A Timeline for Us
by bccaw
Summary: Albus and Severus realize that in order to keep Hermione safe and by Harry's side, an unlikely union must take place. AU after OoTP, but generally follows canon through HBP and major events thereafter. A relatively short SSHG fic, rated M mostly for language and also some adult themes in later chapters.
1. Chapter 1

_Author's Note: This is a relatively short, quickly-written fic that is bit of a twist on the common SSHG marriage law trope. Just a little fun with manipulative Albus, snarky Severus, Hermione-the-brightest-witch-of-her-age, and friends, involving espionage, master plans, and unexpected feelings.  
_

 _AU after OoTP, but will still follow canon through much of HBP and important events after._

* * *

 **Chapter 1: The Plan**

"You can't be serious." Severus' voice was low and dripping with disgust. "It is ridiculous, it is laughable, it will not be believed, and it... it is _wrong,_ Albus!"

"Severus..." Albus said. "Surely you realize I am not suggesting a marriage in any... true sense... of the union. In name, though... I must ask this of you. One last request from a dying man."

"You've already used that line on me. How many more despicable things will you have me promise you on your deathbed? It's not my fault you made a mistake and won't be around to see your plans through to the end!"

"She is vital to the plan, Severus. She must not be lost."

"So hide her!" exploded Severus. "Fake her death – by my hand if you must – but do not make me her sole protector! It is madness to think it will work."

"No, we can't make you a murderer yet..." Severus scowled and opened his mouth to deliver a cutting remark, but Albus continued, "And we can't wait that long to secure her safety. You must start planting the seeds immediately. Be interested, be understanding with her... be _kind_ , Severus. If it is only toward her, especially if you maintain your hatred of Harry and Ron, it will be believable."

"And when shall we inform her of your little scheme?"

"Not until I have succeeded in teaching her at least the basics of Occlumency."

" _What?!_ " hissed Severus, slamming his hands down on Albus' desk and glaring at the old, frail wizard.

"That. Could. Take. _Months._ You would have me feign interest in the girl without informing her for months? My dignity means nothing to you, as I well know... but it is too absurd for someone of her intelligence to believe."

Albus smiled benignly.

"I have faith in you, Severus. And you know very well she will master it in a few weeks, at least enough to be trusted to keep a secret from all but Tom himself, and after that you will be seeing to it that he never has more than a passing interest in your new wife."

"Again, you ask too much, Albus... I do not know... I cannot know whether he will want to use her, test her... This is a supremely foolish plan!"

"Alas, it is, and it is also the best one we have at the moment. She will not seem to be a threat if she is under your control. He trusts you enough to believe the information you tell him comes from her, and if he believes you can fool me, he will find it easy enough to believe you could convince a silly young Muggle-born witch with no particularly attractive features other than her mind to marry you. Especially if that witch believes you are not truly his servant."

"Very well, Albus, but you overlook the simple fact that I CANNOT MARRY A STUDENT!"

Severus beat a fist on the desk and turned away.

"As you've already acknowledged, you need me to continue my post at Hogwarts, even once you are gone. If I marry a student, not even you will be able to convince the board not to throw me out on my arse at the first hint of indiscretion. Past that, Minerva would find a way to murder me before I could get off the premises."

A moment of tense silence followed, after which Albus sighed.

"We can keep it a secret if we must... but if the information you and my other sources give me is true, it will not be long before the board is irrelevant. Those who are not already in his service are fleeing or will be targeted soon. The Ministry is nearly taken already. Perhaps he will go as far as to make it law, rather than simply encouraging his followers to participate in the forced marriages. It will be most convenient for him to have Muggle-borns locked away inside the homes of his followers, already documented and accounted for when he takes power."

"Death Eaters would not be easily encouraged to take Muggle-born spouses. Many would simply torture and kill their new partners for sport without waiting for him to take over... _he_ would not fault them for doing so."

"Which is why our plan must work. Miss Granger is a highly desirable target, both for her magical power and her closeness to Harry. You must be the one to claim her, Severus. He will gladly give you your preference over the rest of them. All the better if you go to him now, suspecting his plan, and propose to use Miss Granger for information after gaining her complete trust. What a loyal servant you will be."

Severus rubbed his hands over his face.

"Yes," he turned to look into Albus' somber, tired eyes. "I will be the most loyal servant imaginable by the end of the year. You ask. Too. Much."

Albus closed his eyes.

"Of you, Severus, I always have... but who else can I trust? Of Miss Granger, I'm sorry to say, we must require too much, if she is to live, and if Harry is to meet his destiny. I had hoped..." Albus seemed genuinely wistful. "I had hoped to get her through this without the need for Occlumency. She is so open and honest... I fear the result."

"That she will end up broken and emotionally absent? Suicidal?"

"No, she seems strong enough to overcome those dangers. I worry she will not remain the trusted friend that Harry needs... you must teach her to lie, Severus, and make sure that she stays close to Harry through the end."

"I see. Dare I ask whether you will be enlightening me as the rest of the particulars of your plan for the boys and my future bride anytime soon?"

"Soon, my boy," said Albus. "Far sooner than I'd hoped."


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2: The Professor Breaks the Silence**

Hermione was having a very strange week. Just over half-way through her sixth year it seemed that her long-standing unrequited crush on Ron Weasley was finally waning. His disgusting affair with Lavender had ended, which had initially cheered her immensely, though she had been highly disappointed that Ron had preferred to take the easy way out by ignoring Lavender in favor of Hermione until she finally got the hint.

He was such a whiny coward sometimes. Could she forgive him for that? Increasingly, she rather thought the answer was no. However, increasingly, Ron was interested in holding hands, nudging her foot with his under tables, and sitting so close to her that their thighs might have melted together in the warmth of the winter fire in the common room. It was hard to stick to her decision to keep her distance when six feet of well-muscled, tousled ginger-haired, baby-blue-eyed boy was glued to her side.

Even since Lavender had... happened, Hermione had started paying more attention to her looks, hating herself for it the whole time. However, it seemed that Ron might have noticed. He routinely commented that her hair was "so soft and wavy", two adjectives that could only be attributed to the daily use of no less than three specialty potions. She was nearly out, having to use giant globs of the stuff on her mass of thick frizzy curls, and did not look forward to shelling out more of her precious monthly allowance for more.

She had drawn the line at wearing makeup to classes, though. What little she owned was reserved for visits to Hogsmeade and holidays. Hermione hated the feel of the stuff on her face, and had a terrible habit of rubbing her eyes without thinking, which meant any products to enhance them were not an option. It was a shame, because they were arguably her only really nice feature in an otherwise plain, somewhat masculinely square face.

While not especially large, she did think her eyes were pretty – warm, chocolate brown with a narrow hazel ring near the center. Her short, straight lashes were at least thick and dark without mascara. Her brows were often untamed, but not too heavy, she thought. At least, not offensive enough for her to feel the need to groom them beyond plucking a few stray hairs now and then.

It was just after she had spent the last few minutes before Defense class in the bathroom mirror, making such evaluations of her appearance and wondering if Ron even noticed when she wore more than chapstick, that she very nearly ran into Professor Snape in the corridor. He was never late to class, and Hermione gaped at him for a moment as she stopped short of the classroom door.

"Sorry, Professor," she murmured, wondering if she should bolt through the door without another word to avoid being late, or if that would simply earn her more points deducted from Gryffindor.

He stood staring at her silently, as if he expected a more specific apology, but Hermione's mouth was glued shut. Finally, he gestured at the door.

"After you, Miss Granger," he said calmly, seemingly unbothered by her tardiness or his own, for that matter.

Class was generally the same as ever. Hermione managed to talk Harry down from making disrespectful comments to Snape no less than four times before he blurted one out and cost Gryffindor 30 house points.

The surprising part came when Hermione managed to earn half of them back with a few expertly-delivered hexes during her duel with Theodore Nott.

After the third, "Five points to Gryffindor, Miss Granger," Snape seemed to notice that the entire class had stopped what they were doing to stare at him. A hush fell over the room as he scowled.

"What are you all staring at? Get back to it! And Mr. Nott, I would very much _like_ to award you points, if only you would _do something_ with that supposedly magical stick in your hand! Focus! Keep your mouth shut!"

Hermione won the duel, high on the euphoria that came instantly with praise from the school's most difficult professor. She could count on one hand the number of times Snape had expressed anything but annoyance at her attempts to impress him. She had long ago stopped hoping to ever earn house points in his class, reasoning more recently that he must have to pretend to hate anyone but the Slytherins to make sure no one doubted his cover as a spy.

What could it mean, if he was suddenly willing to acknowledge her successes in class? She was not sure she wanted to know.

"Miss Granger, stay after class," he said lazily, startling her. She looked up, confused.

"Yes, sir," she said, ignoring Ron's huffy sigh behind her. He had wanted her to look over his Charms essay in between classes.

"I'll meet you in the common room," she said as he gathered his things to leave. "This can't take long, Ron. I'm sure I'll still have time to help you look over it."

He nodded and squeezed her hand before he left.

"Thanks, Hermione!"

Her classmates filed out, and Hermione stood still, watching them. She could feel Snape standing a few feet away, behind her. Slowly, she turned around.

"Your friends should be able to write their own essays by now, Miss Granger."

She swallowed, her mouth dry.

"Yes, sir. One would expect so."

"But I suppose you must keep on now, else it would become obvious they haven't the faintest idea of how to string together a complete sentence."

Hermione glared at him. _He can't really be such a git, he's playing a role,_ she told herself. He did not sound as sarcastic as usual, and instead his manner was calm... calculated, perhaps? No, she decided, he sounded as if he was simply making an observation rather than trying to rile her up in order to deduct points for disrespect. Well, he did have a point.

"Yes... er... yes, sir."

Silence followed. Snape leaned back on the desk behind him and studied her.

"You agree with me?"

She glared at him briefly again before sighing and lowering her eyes.

"Yes."

She waited for him to reprimand her for leaving out the 'sir' but it did not come. Her eyes slowly returned to his face and they continued to stand in silence for a few more moments. Hermione alternated between staring back at him and glancing around the room.

"I appreciate your honesty, Miss Granger. Now... as for why you are here."

She shifted slightly on her spot.

"I wish to... apologize."

Hermione struggled to hide her surprise, knowing she failed. Snape was staring intensely at her, unblinking, speaking very quietly now.

"I have unfairly singled you out in the past with... unkind remarks. While I'm sure _you,_ of all people, must now realize _why..._ " he paused emphatically. "It did go, at times, beyond what was excusable as necessary."

His eyes bored uncomfortably into hers, and he all but whispered the next words.

"Forgive me."

She opened her mouth but no words came out. He lowered his eyes at last.

"You may go. And Miss Granger... The next time Potter or Weasley hounds you for academic assistance which their sorry selves have no reason to be entitled to, you might consider telling them to bugger off until you are at leisure to help them."

Hermione felt her eyes must be bugging out of her head as she stared. She clutched her books to her chest awkwardly.

"I, uh... Thank you, Professor."

She made a slight movement toward the door, walking backwards as if it might be dangerous to turn her back on this strange new version of Professor Snape. Why was he doing this – apologizing? Why _now?_ He was certainly still a spy.

He smirked at her confusion.

"Get to class, Granger."

Hermione left, thinking that he must have heard Ron whinging about needing help with his essay earlier during class. He had not acted as if he noticed at the time, but he must have been watching them from across the room, paying close enough attention to hear their conversation. Eavesdropping.

Hermione endeavored to forget about her odd encounter with Snape. She had just enough time to read through Ron's essay once, making a few small corrections that would earn him a solid low-middle-of-the-road grade, and off they went to Charms.

Ron had only half-heartedly questioned her about what Snape had wanted, but once they met Harry in the corridor it was the first thing he said.

"Well?"

"Well, what, Harry?"

" _What did Snape want?"_

Hermione rolled her eyes.

"Nothing, really. He heard Ron asking me to help him with his essay and wanted to make sure I didn't have time, apparently."

"I can't believe he gave you points for the duel today."

"Me either."

"I wonder what it means..." Harry pondered.

"Never mind, Harry," said Hermione. "Let's get inside before we have to sit at the table with the puking pastille stains."

Later that evening, Hermione and Ron were sitting by the fire together, reading. Or rather, Hermione was reading their assigned text for Transfiguration, and Ron was pretending to read an old Quidditch magazine. It wasn't long before his arm ended up around her. Then he started squeezing her shoulder until she sighed and shut her book.

"Hi," he said, grinning at her.

"Hello, Ronald," she said. He made a face.

"Don't call me that, 'Mione."

She smacked his leg.

"Don't call _me_ 'Mione!"

He grinned again.

"All right, Hermione... want to sneak out with me to get something from the kitchen?"

"Ugh, no, Ron. How can you still be hungry?"

"C'mon... let's take a study break."

" _You're_ not studying."

"Still, let's," he said. "Then I'll study. I can't think when I'm half-starved."

"Oh, fine!" she said at last.

They took Harry's cloak, promising to bring him back some biscuits, and huddled under it. Ron had to hunch over until he was Hermione's height so that their feet wouldn't show.

Half-way to the kitchens, Ron grabbed her elbow and urged her off into an alcove in a dark, rarely-used corridor.

"Ron, what?" she said, after casting Muffliato.

"Shhh... I thought I heard someone."

A minute of complete silence caused Hermione to look up at him, hunched over her, inches away.

"Nobody's there, Ron."

"Yeah..." he said, smiling down at her. Despite her annoyance, her stomach flipped at his expression. She felt him rest a hand on her waist, another touched her upper arm.

"Hermione, did you ever think maybe we could be more than friends?"

She looked up into his sweet blue eyes and her resolve faded away. Ron's face was closing in on hers, and she had wanted this for so long...

Soft lips touched hers and she grabbed his arms. More pressure, and she opened her mouth slightly. A small moan escaped. Her eyes opened as she marveled that this was finally happening, and then she saw him. Professor Snape was walking toward them.

With a surprising presence of mind, Hermione grasped her wand and wordlessly ended Muffliato. Without any other noise to distract him, Snape was sure to notice that his ears were mysteriously buzzing louder the closer he got to them.

Thankfully, Ron didn't make a sound when he realized that she had seen something that made her tense up and draw her wand. Eyes wide, they stared at one another with bated breath.

Professor Snape walked into the corridor from the main hall. A few more steps, and he would be just outside the alcove. He stopped at stared at the space where they stood, wrapped in each other's arms. Hermione hoped the cloak was still covering their feet.

"Damn fool," he said under his breath. He lingered a moment longer, walked a few more steps past them, then retreated.

Ron's grasp on her tightened again a few long minutes later, but the spell was broken.

"Ron, stop," she said softly, but kissed him once more before she pulled away. "I... I don't want to get caught."

"He won't be back tonight," said Ron dismissively.

"Let's just go," she said, casting a dampening charm on their shoes.

They returned to the common room, and though she enjoyed practically sitting in Ron's lap as she finished her reading for the night, Hermione could not help feeling that for some reason, Professor Snape had been speaking directly to her that night. Which was ridiculous, because if he had suspected anyone was there he would have investigated further.

As Ron slowly moved his hand to rest on her leg under her throw pillow, Hermione noted the warmth that welled up in her belly and washed over her body with some dismay.

 _Damn fool, indeed,_ she thought.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3: The Path to Proficiency**

Severus was in a foul mood all week. Albus had waited until Friday to call Hermione to his office for her first lesson in Occlumency. The girl was predictably ecstatic to be chosen for such an honor. Severus knew not what Albus had told her to explain the need for lessons, but it probably involved a great deal of flattery of her mind and magical power. That would be enough for now, perhaps, but she would certainly question his motives before long.

Just how long he would have to act interested in Granger before she became wise to the plan, Severus did not know. He hoped that her determination to excel would make her path to proficiency short. It made him physically ill to think about the scheme he was attempting to pull off, and all the more ill if he had to implement it without her consent. Not that it would work without her eventual informed cooperation.

For what intelligent, barely-of-age witch would be accepting of sudden interest shown her by the professor who had been nothing short of cruel to her and her closest friends for years? She was already skeptical of his actions. It was impossible that she would believe he did not have ulterior motives for the sudden change of attitude toward her.

They were not _his_ ulterior motives, but he would carry them out nonetheless. She would go along with the plan in the end, no matter how repulsive or upsetting she found the idea. Albus would leave her no choice.

He had given her more points that day in class. Another few weeks of such behavior, and her classmates would no longer stop and gape at him when it happened. He had, however, relished every opportunity he found to deduct points from Potter and Weasley. In the end, Gryffindor was worse off even with Granger gaining a few points here and there.

She was certainly suspicious of his behavior, which had the pleasant effect of shutting her up in class for once. Her competitive side appeased by recognition every so often, she stopped giving Potter and Weasley any help in Defense. She might even have stopped reviewing their essays, as the quality diminished slightly over the next weeks.

On Wednesday of the third week, she stayed at her desk after class. He ignored her at first, stalling until he had to answer the inevitable questions she had finally worked up the courage to ask.

"Professor Snape?"

He stopped shuffling papers on his desk, but did not turn to look at her.

"Yes, Miss Granger?"

"I, ah... was wondering..."

She paused and seemed to lose her will to speak. Severus turned around.

"Well? Wondering _what_?"

"Professor Dumbledore told me that you know about my...uh, private lessons. He implied that you..." She stood up, knocking her legs into the desk and wincing. "That you are treating me differently now because I'm to be trusted with something... important."

"Did he?"

"Ah... yes."

A pause during which she looked incredibly nervous and guilty followed.

"Is that all you were... wondering, Miss Granger?"

"Well, no. He also said that you would not tell me anything until I'm ready, so that I should not badger you for information unless you offered it."

Severus stared blankly at her. What was Albus playing at? She could not possibly be ready yet, and he was baiting her with hints and whispers of what was to come.

"So, I suppose what I was wondering is... is there anything you _can_ tell me? This is all very... nerve wracking... not knowing why I'm being taught to hide my thoughts and emotions. Professor Dumbledore has not been very... forthcoming."

Severus could not hold back a small snort at that reserved description of Albus' manipulative scheming.

"All I can tell you, Miss Granger, is that you had best be a _much_ better pupil than Potter was in the subject. You will be tested soon. By myself."

She immediately looked ill. Severus softened his expression.

"Once the headmaster thinks you are ready."

"Oh. Er – Thank you, Professor."

She started to sweep her things up into her bag. He watched her, noting that her hair was especially bushy that day, adding to her nervous, frazzled demeanor. What a ill-kempt pair they would be.

Hermione left, and Severus vowed to corner Albus as soon as he got the chance. Before dinner that night, Severus barged into the headmaster's office and began speaking without preamble.

"Why on EARTH would you tell Granger I had information for her before she is ready to hear it?! Albus, she came in talking about the Occlumency lessons, asking what kind of information I might have for her, and now I shall have _that_ memory floating around in my head... as if I didn't have enough to hide already! You certainly take no pains to help me stay alive, for all that you claim to depend on me!"

"Ah, Severus... I thought I might be hearing from you today. Do sit down."

"I'd rather not."

Severus stood glaring at Albus, arms folded.

"I believe Miss Granger is ready, Severus. We devised a little test for her, which was that she would initiate a conversation with you on the subject of what she must be told."

"She cannot be ready yet. She was completely out-of-sorts in my presence, and looked like she might vomit at any moment."

Albus smiled slightly.

"That may very well be, but did you observe her state of mind, or merely her outward actions? If you take a minute to reflect, I believe you will realize her thoughts were well-hidden despite appearances in the moment."

Severus frowned. He paused to recall the scene with Granger after class. She had appeared to be nervous, and he was an expert at reading students' nonverbal cues. It was second nature to him, and it was almost as easy for him to pick up on their unguarded emotions as well. Except that he had not picked up any from her earlier.

"We shall have to teach her to act," Albus mused. "But she has been successful at shielding her mind from me in our tests."

Severus smirked.

"You mean, she was successful at shielding her mind from you when you weren't really trying."

"Naturally, I did not use my full strength to break her shields. I do that on no one, as you well know, Severus."

 _Not anymore,_ Severus thought.

"The Dark Lord would."

"He shall never have a reason to question her, if all goes as planned. We will keep her out of this war as much as is possible. She is only to be there for Harry when he needs her, and you are to keep her safe so that she may fulfill that role. If Tom tries to use her or coerce her, she will resist and he will lose a vital connection to Harry, one who from whom you will _pass along information_ if need be."

Severus was silent for a moment. The plan was steadily growing in complexity. If Granger truly had a gift for the mind arts, he could train her to help with the ruse, better ensuring the safety of them both. Albus would not like it, but Albus would not be around much longer and his opinions would soon cease on the matter.

"Then it is time that _I_ test Miss Granger myself," he concluded. "I am not yet sure that she won't accidentally get me killed in a few day's time."

Albus inclined his head.

"Might I suggest taking a bit more time to... get to know the girl first? She must like and trust you before we can broach the subject of your union."

"You wish me to seduce a student?"

As if anyone could be seduced by a pasty, underfed scarecrow of a man with stubborn, oft-greasy hair that would not acquiesce to more than the slightest of trims.

"Seduce? Certainly not... though a small bit of charm on your part would go far. Persuade her to trust you, and perhaps even like you, Severus. I think that must come before the proposal."

"Sweet mother of Merlin," mumbled Severus under his breath, eyes closed, fingers pinching the bridge of his nose.

He did try that week to earn her trust, but it seemed she was not as easily persuaded as Albus expected. He took to tailing her around the castle, always just out of sight, looking for opportunities to catch her alone without asking her to stay after class.

Once, he found her with arms full of a teetering stack of books in the library, and without a word lifted the top half of the pile out of her hands. He walked with her to her usual study spot in the farthest corner from the door and placed the books on the already overcrowded table.

"Uh... Thank you, sir." She was looking at him as if he had grown a tentacle for a nose.

"Madam Pince does not look kindly on those who hog half the library to themselves, Miss Granger." He inclined his head toward the front desk, where Pince was watching them with her glinting hawk eyes.

"Yes, I know," said Hermione, and her slight smile implied the rest: _and I couldn't be arsed to care._

A day later, he had followed her until she was in a secluded hall and then quickly overtaken the distance between them.

"What might a prefect be doing all alone in a corridor she should have no reason to be in, Miss Granger?"

She whirled around.

"You've been following me!"

They stared at one another, she accusingly, he blankly.

"Yes, I did follow you here, Miss Granger. It seems that quite often you find reasons to be in parts of the castle where there _should_ be nothing to interest you. Care to explain?"

She put her hands on her hips and narrowed her eyes.

"I might ask you the same question, for it seems you always come upon me when I'm in such places."

"It is my job to make sure students are not getting up to mischief in unused areas of the castle. I noticed you often disappear into them... so I've decided to investigate. Now, do explain yourself, Granger, before I'm forced to assume the worst and give you detention."

She folded her arms.

"I noticed you were always mysteriously present wherever I was between classes lately, so I decided to go places you had no reason to be to test the theory. You've been following me."

He met her eyes and sure enough, mental shields were present. She was occluding her mind, though whether she was actually hiding anything remained to be seen. Albus had no doubt told her to always keep her mind guarded around Severus.

 _Legilimens,_ he thought, holding her gaze.

It was like opening an immensely heavy door, but he got into her mind with a respectable amount of effort. It was remarkably calm and sedate, but within seconds he sensed her directing him toward their last words to one another. There was something she did not want him to see.

He waited a moment, and even pulled back in anticipation. Then he pushed past her surface thoughts, expanding into the space just beyond... and he caught a flash of orange hair – Weasley hair. The boy's face was so close it began to blur and he felt the heat of desire wash over him... or rather, her, as it was her memory.

"No!"

Her hands smacked against his chest as her legs buckled and she fell forward with the effort of throwing him from her mind.

Severus reflexively caught her by the elbows as she wrenched his robes down with her.

"Miss Granger, focus on regaining control of your limbs... _please!_ "

Her face was now red from embarrassment. Well, _that_ had gone well. Severus wondered if she had been on the way to meet Weasley for a few minutes of illicit canoodling before lunch. _Most likely_ , he thought, as her eyes shifted from the floor to an empty storage closet nearby. As he was in no mood to look at Weasley's defiant freckled face, he simply set her back on her feet and folded his arms.

"Miss Granger, I don't know what the yelling and that little hysterical episode was about, but I am going to write you a note for the infirmary. See to it that you get a Calming Draught and eat something immediately after."

"Yes, sir."

He leaned in closer to her and held a wrist to her forehead.

"Not bad," he whispered. "But you'll have to do better next time."

Out loud he said, "I do believe you are feverish. Ten points from Gryffindor for exposing your classmates to your illness when you should still be in bed. I don't want to see you in the halls for the rest of the day, Miss Granger."

He turned to go and sent a spell at the door to his left.

"And twenty points from Gryffindor for whomever is hiding in the broom closet."


	4. Chapter 4

_Author's Note: For those who might be worried - no, Ron will not be around much longer. Hermione will soon be moving on from that childhood crush ;-)_

 **Chapter 4: Hermione's Education**

Hermione had learned far more in the past few weeks than she had expected to get from her last semester of sixth year. Occlumency seemed to come naturally to her, to both her own and Dumbledore's great surprise.

"I should have known," he had chuckled one night. "A well-ordered mind is a great asset in many ways."

She was dying to know exactly why she had been asked to learn the mind art, but she was secretly triumphant that she had succeeded so easily where Harry had barely tried. He had made it sound nearly impossible, but even Snape had told her she was doing well. That meant that soon he would see fit to tell her what Dumbledore had planned.

Her lessons with the headmaster were only part of her off-the-books education; Ron was quickly catching her up on what she had missed by not dating anyone while many of her peers let their hormones take over all of their free time. Harry did not suspect the extent of it, but Ginny had warned her not to share any details about what she might get up to with her brother.

"I'm happy for you, Hermione, but I don't want to talk about what my brother does with his girlfriends... otherwise, I'd be begging you to spill!"

Hermione would not have shared any details with Ginny no matter who she happened to be dating. She was not sure what she expected to happen with Ron, but had decided to enjoy her time with him to the fullest. It would be a shame to die in the war never having known what she was missing.

If it were not for Severus Snape, she might have already learned a great deal more from Ron. He _had_ been following her, whether or not he would admit it, and now Ron was convinced he was waiting to catch them in a compromising position and would not sneak off with her into the deserted corridors where they had been meeting.

Hermione was highly annoyed with Snape for this reason, as he must already know what she would be asked to do for Dumbledore, and must know that whatever the responsibility was, it would likely put a stop to her carefree affair with Ron – which he now knew about, thanks to her failure to keep the memories hidden from him. Would it hurt him to let her have a bit of fun before Voldemort got a strong enough hold on the Ministry that she had to go into hiding? She might never complete her education, unless Harry... but Hermione refused to let her thoughts wander into that anxious, frightening territory. The time would come when they had to face Harry's destiny as 'The Chosen One' – and she would be with him, without question – but for now she just wanted to believe that her education would matter, that it would be completed, and that she would have a place in the magical world when all was said and done.

She also wanted to experience life to the fullest while she still had the time, and what better way to do so than with her childhood crush and long-time best friend, partner-in-saving-Harry's-arse all these years? It was the stuff stories were made of, their relationship. No matter that if she was brutally honest with herself, she did not think it would last.

Sighing, Hermione spent a few minutes rewriting the final paragraph of her Herbology essay. Ron, Harry, and Ginny would be back from practice any minute. Harry and Ginny would be inseparable as soon as they returned, and that meant Ron would be all hers. She smiled to herself at the thought and started pack up her study materials from the library desk she had claimed that evening.

"What's your hurry, Miss Granger?"

Hermione froze and immediately fought to occlude her mind securely. Professor Snape swooped out of the library shelves and materialized by her side, placing one hand on the desk in front of her.

"Just returning to the common room before curfew, Professor Snape," she said lightly. He could find no reason to take points this evening, as she would be in Gryffindor tower long before sixth year hours were up.

"Ah, yes... I assume the two dumber thirds of your trio will be returning shortly from the Quidditch pitch?"

He smirked.

"You wouldn't want to keep Mr. Weasley waiting while you study. He might soon find another witch to keep him company."

She gasped in surprise at his insinuation, speechless.

"Enjoy your evening," he whispered knowingly, and walked away.

Hermione stared after him in shock. What in Merlin's name had that been about? Did he simply enjoy making her uncomfortable?

At any rate, she _did_ plan to enjoy her evening with Ron, and not even Snape could dull her mood. His attentions had not strayed from her for weeks, and it was immensely satisfying. Hermione was not one to let a relationship interfere with her studies, and Ron had been remarkably understanding. He had even started to attempt actual studying while in her presence and was making some progress without need for her continual nagging.

That evening, Hermione convinced Ron to sneak down to the common room in the middle of the night with Harry's cloak. Stealing a few pillows off the couches and arranging them in the corner of the room to the right of the fireplace, they threw the cloak over themselves and proceeded to continue their evening. The cloak proved to be an unnecessary precaution that night, as not one other couple seemed to have had the same idea.

Things were progressing quite nicely, Hermione decided as she finally slipped into bed. Thankfully, none of the other girls woke when she snuck back into the dormitory.

The next day they had Defense again, and Hermione found herself feeling quite smug that Snape had not been able to completely ruin her fun with Ron. It was lucky that they shared a common room. Dating across house lines must be quite difficult for those that tried it.

She sailed through the lesson without caring that he did not once acknowledge her exemplary work. Some days he did, some days he did not... she had stopped keeping count.

She was partnered with Neville for the last activity, and Ron was with Harry as usual, his back to her though he was standing quite close.

"Want to meet me down by the lake before lunch?" he asked, turning around to wink at her.

"Sure, Ron," she replied, nonverbally shielding herself from Neville's hex. Professor Snape was staring at her and must have seen it, but he simply looked away.

"I was planning to have my Transfiguration project out of the way early tonight," Hermione said. "Want to meet me in the library say..." She paused to cast another shield. "Around nine?"

"Sure thing, Hermi – oof!"

Harry chose that moment to cast a well-aimed hex at Ron's leg.

"Miss Granger, this in not an exercise in needless chatter! You will stop distracting your classmates immediately, and you will also serve detention. Tonight."

The corner of his mouth rose slightly.

"At nine o'clock. I will see you in my office."

"Great greasy git," mumbled Ron, which lost Gryffindor ten points for 'poor enunciation'.

Hermione contented herself with glaring at the back of Snape's head with a firmly occluded mind. Tonight she would demand answers! Or perhaps, she would ask very nicely and maybe he would be in the right mood to talk.

Hermione, diligent student that she was, informed Ron that she still planned to complete her Transfiguration project before her detention. He declined to join her in the library, saying that it would drive him bonkers to stare at the top of her head for hours while she worked. There would be no time for breaks this evening.

Placing her work carefully in order and tying the bundle closed, Hermione checked the time. It was seven minutes till nine. She had just enough time to arrive promptly for her detention, if that was indeed what it was intended to be.

Hermione walked swiftly through the corridors to the dungeons and Snape's office. The usual damp chill greeted her at the bottom of the last staircase. She walked up to Snape's door and sighed before knocking.

"Come in, Miss Granger," his voice rang out immediately.

"Professor Snape," she greeted him. He stood and walked around his desk, watching her closely.

"Are you sufficiently prepared for another test?"

She nodded, doing her best to feign confidence.

"Very well. Look at me."

She obeyed, steeling herself for his intrusion into her thoughts. It was delayed, and when it began she might never have noticed if Dumbledore had not taught her to sense the sneaky, beguiling feeling of a Legilimens gently testing the bounds of her mental shield. She fought the urge to look away briefly to distract him – she must appear perfectly willing and trusting. She wanted to know the information he had yet to share with her.

With utmost delicacy, she slowly brought forward every benign moment of the day, dwelling on the incident in DADA more than once. It would be natural for that memory to occupy her mind in his presence this evening. Thoughts of the night before were far from her consciousness, safely forgotten for the moment.

He relented faster than she would have expected.

"Very good, Hermione."

She blinked at his use of her name, and he smiled frighteningly.

"What a good little Occlumens you have become. Has Weasley grown tired of you already? I'm seeing far less of him this week."

She raised her chin.

"Wouldn't you like to know."

That frightening smile returned.

"If I wanted to be sure, I could find my proof easily enough, but I have no desire to subject you to such an... experience. At the moment."

Hermione looked up at him as he towered over her, and found that despite the strange, uncharacteristic expression on his face, which seemed to suggest actual mirth rather than a cruel sense of humor, she was not afraid of him. He no longer made her nervous when he attempted to bore holes through her skull with those sharp black eyes. Rather, he was more often a source of annoyance and little else.

"You are ready, Miss Granger," he announced, dropping the smile and fixing her with a steady gaze once more.

"I was hoping you might say that," she admitted, her excitement growing. She could not help feeling that she was about to be fully part of something vital to the work of the Order, perhaps something that would give her a concrete reason to hope that Harry had a chance of defeating Voldemort after all.

Severus walked to the door.

"Let us go to the headmaster, then," he said, looking suddenly tired. He waited for her to pass through before shutting the door firmly behind them.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5: The Proposal**

Severus could not postpone the meeting any longer. Granger would have to be told of her fate, and it must happen by the end of the week.

As he escorted her to the headmaster's office he felt dread rise up in his stomach, thinking of the swift disappointment and anger that surely would be Granger's part of the proceedings. The poor girl was practically bouncing with anticipation as they walked. She thought she was to be given a task of no small importance, judging by the caliber of Occlumency training she had received.

They filed into Albus' office silently, taking their seats without invitation. Albus nodded.

"I was wondering how long you two would keep an old man up this chilly evening."

Hermione's eyes were wide and fixed on Albus.

"Let's not waste time with pleasantries, Albus," Severus sighed. "Tell the girl what she needs to know."

Hermione's eyes flicked over to him for a moment, obviously annoyed at his tone.

"Hermione, my dear..." began Albus, wheezing in his grandfatherly way. Surely even she knew by now that it was his stalling tactic while he fabricated the perfect turn of phrase.

"Severus and I have a plan for you – it became clear that it would be necessary some weeks ago, just before we started our lessons."

"Now, _don't_ go blaming me for this scheme," interjected Severus. "It was all your design! I am..." He looked at Hermione. "Simply the faithful servant."

"Very well, Severus. Hermione, I will have you know that Professor Snape was just as scandalized by this course of action as you will certainly be. Bear in mind that it is absolutely necessary to ensure your safety and continued contact with Harry in the future."

Hermione was frowning, and turned her head to stare at Severus.

"What is it?"

Severus glanced at Albus, who simply shrugged when Hermione continued to beseech him with her eyes, refusing to acknowledge the headmaster. Severus kept his face blank.

"The plan, Miss Granger, is for us to be married by the end of the month."

Her face froze in a rather comical expression somewhere between disbelief and horror.

"Uh – I – that is – WHY? But you're my professor! Is that even _legal?!_ "

She had now turned to Albus for answers, and Severus sagged in his chair, head in his hand. Now it would begin.

"Hermione," said Albus patiently, holding up a hand to quiet another question before it left her lips. "Allow me to explain our dilemma. You are known to be very close to Harry, and have been with him through nearly every trial he has faced involving Voldemort. Muggle-borns will soon be tracked, targeted, and forced to comply with whatever new regulations Tom and his followers see fit to implement. This _will_ begin to happen before we have any hope of stopping the tide of blood discrimination and hatred he brings."

"We are going to be here all night," murmured Severus. Albus shot him a look of warning.

"There were once laws that forced Muggle-borns to marry into pureblood families upon coming of age, or else be banished from all use of magic. Punishment for breaking such a law was both swift and... final."

Hermione's lips were held in a tight, unpleasant line, but she did not speak.

"Furthermore," Albus continued. "Muggle-borns who demonstrated superior magical abilities were often forced into marriage under the control of pureblood families in order to produce powerful heirs, who would never know the truth of their heritage. Gag Curses were commonly performed on the Muggle-born parent to prevent them from revealing the truth to their children."

Hermione shifted in her chair.

"You really think he is going to implement such a thing?" she asked. "I always thought he would kill those he could get to and drive the rest into hiding among the Muggles for the rest of their lives."

Severus sat up again.

"You would be correct, Miss Granger," he said. "However, most of his supporters, especially those not... initiated into the inner circle... are not in favor of mass murder. They have been indoctrinated from birth to believe that Muggle-borns are a threat to all magical folk, but they would prefer to re-implement archaic marriage laws rather than death squads to enforce blood purity."

She frowned again, deeply troubled.

"What about all the others? What will happen to them when this becomes law?"

"We hope it will never come to be actual law, but we must be prepared. Tom has more than once mentioned an interest in your legendary intellect and magical abilities. Severus has done what he could over the years to convince him that such reports are drastically overblown, but Tom knows that Harry, at least, believes you are capable of anything you put your mind to."

Severus caught her eye.

"You will be the first target. He is already encouraging unmarried Death Eaters to abduct and forcibly marry Muggle-borns as they come of age. Not only are you already seventeen, you are the first he will want under his control. It is possible that he will use forced marriages to keep track of Muggle-born students before they disappear into hiding."

Albus folded his hands together.

"Severus will ask for the privilege of claiming you. He is trusted. I have no doubt he will be given the responsibility of watching you and making sure you keep in contact with Harry. It would be a marriage in name only, my dear, to keep you under Severus' protection until such a time as it is no longer necessary."

Hermione looked like she had been run over by troll. She sat in silence as the men in the room avoided one another's gaze, waiting for her to question them further.

"I'll only do it on the condition that I will be able to complete my magical education as soon as possible. If... if we are married, then surely I would be allowed to finish my studies as the wife of a pureblood – "

Severus cleared his throat, causing her to stop and look at him.

"I am not... of pure magical lineage, Miss Granger. My father was a Muggle."

Her mouth dropped open. Severus was not sure why he had felt the need to clarify his blood status to Granger.

"Oh. Well... in any case, surely if I'm married to Voldemort's most trusted servant … surely I would be allowed to continue a magical education."

Severus stared at her.

"I will do everything in my power to meet your conditions," he finally said. "Though... I cannot promise how or when."

"You must believe, Miss Granger," said Albus. "There is yet hope, much hope, for those who oppose Tom and his hate-filled followers. Good will always overcome, even after the darkest of days. You must believe that you will fight, live, and prosper long after this evil has passed."

She blinked at few times before speaking.

"I do try," she said softly. "I have another question."

Again, Albus and Severus waited.

"I know that magical marriage vows are a bit more, er... serious than Muggle ceremonies. Assuming the best happens and we Muggle-borns are one day equal again... what will ending such vows require?"

Albus glanced at Severus.

"Depending on which vows are used in the union, it would require a little as a written, signed declaration of irreconcilable differences or as much as a few drops of blood from each of you for a Parting Potion."

"Blood Magic? Why would that be necessary?"

Severus faced her.

"The Dark Lord would expect a powerful binding ceremony, if the Muggle-borns in question are to be allowed to stay in magical society."

"I've never heard of a Parting Potion. What does it do?"

"Combined with the right spells, it dissolves the marriage vows completely and separates the couple's magic once again," explained Severus. "If not done correctly, the result may be an uneven division of power. The worst cases end with one partner as good as a Squib with a wand."

"The vows would... somehow link our magic?"

Albus nodded sagely.

"Indeed, Miss Granger, the vows he would expect do just that. Even without such a binding, a couple's magic is often mingled in marriage, making the whole stronger than the separate parts. They may come to draw on one another's power without ever invoking formal vows to that effect."

Hermione took in a long, unsteady breath.

"This is insane."

She folded her arms, clearing fighting back some kind of panic attack. Finally, she succeeded, and looked at Albus.

"If this is what must be done, so be it. Is it to be a secret marriage to everyone but us and... _him?_ "

"For the foreseeable future, yes, Miss Granger," Albus assured her. "You must not tell anyone."

She nodded, obviously in shock. More moments of silence passed.

"Severus, would you be so kind as to escort Miss Granger back to her dormitory? I believe we have covered enough in our discussion for tonight."

Severus resisted resting a hand on her shoulder as she walked out with him, as if that action could somehow relieve the burden she now carried.

They walked to Gryffindor tower in silence. No students were out of bed that evening, thank Merlin. When they were within a few meters of the portrait hole, she stopped.

"Thank you for ensuring I did not collapse on the way here," she said numbly. "My, uh, _detention_ was especially... exhausting this evening... sir."

"Ever the dramatic Gryffindor."

She looked down at the floor, her face frighteningly pale. He reached out and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Deal with Weasley before the week is out. We must move quickly."

She looked up at him in surprise.

"Yes, Miss Granger, it would be most unwise to attempt to continue in that vein... once you are a married witch."


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6: Timing is a B******

It took Hermione two full days to come to terms with the fact that she would soon be the secret wife of Severus Snape. She had felt ill since that night in Dumbledore's office, but she was not afraid of what was to come, and somewhat to her own surprise she found that she trusted Snape to do whatever it took to keep her safe. Instead, she mourned the end of all pretenses of happiness and her hopes for a few more months of relatively normal life as a student. The time had come to face the fast approaching war – Dumbledore had been quite clear. Harry would need her, and she would need Snape.

Ron had never been sweeter to her, and seemed to be settling into a routine that included increasing amounts of actual studying. Hermione had briefly considered ignoring Snape's warning, but she was too smart to put herself, Snape, Harry, and _the plan_ in danger. Voldemort would not trust Snape's loyalties if he discovered that he either allowed his Muggle-born wife to freely have an affair or that she was capable of deceiving him.

Ron would not be willing – and possibly not able – to keep a relationship a secret, and what knowledge was floating around unprotected in Harry's mind was potentially in reach of Voldemort through their connection. Not to mention that if Harry was right, and Draco Malfoy was already a Death Eater, he had probably been given the task to keep an eye on Harry and his friends, as well as Snape. Would he be told about the marriage? Hermione grimaced at the thought of Malfoy having such knowledge.

She had to break it off with Ron. Perhaps after... if there was an after for her... the timing would finally be right. With the weight of what she now knew about the impending struggle against Voldemort and his supporters, trying to have a relationship with Ron seemed incredibly foolish. It would probably have been a foolish idea even if the timing had cooperated – despite his attractive qualities and recent efforts to attempt a modicum of maturity in her presence, Ron was still selfish, his whinging never ceased to grate on her nerves, and she hated his obsession with Quidditch.

On Friday of that week, Hermione dutifully sat Ron down one night and cast Muffliato.

"Ron... we need to talk." How she hated hearing those predictable words leaving her mouth. Not catching the implications of her tone, Ron smiled.

"Sure, 'Mione."

"Don't call me that! Look, this is serious..."

Ron's smile dropped.

"What's wrong?"

She sighed. Best to get it over with as fast as possible.

"I think we need to stop, uh... seeing one another."

Ron's face flushed as he frowned in confusion.

"What? Why? I thought you were happy... I was going to ask you to be my girlfriend tomorrow on our Hogsmeade date!"

"Ron, I was... I'm as happy as I _can_ be, but there's a war starting and... and we've already agreed we are going to be there with Harry, no matter what happens."

She looked into his sad, blue puppy eyes and shook her head.

"We need to be able to... do what needs to be done, and... I think it will be really hard to do that if we try to have a relationship. I do love you, Ron. You're my best friend. It's been years now that I wondered if it might ever be more, but..."

Hermione sighed again.

"I overheard Dumbledore talking to Snape before he left his office the other night when I had detention. Ron, Dumbledore seems to think it won't be long before all Muggle-borns are forced into hiding."

"What did you hear?" asked Ron, eyes wide.

"Not much," Hermione stalled. "Just... something about needing to know more about the state of the Ministry. They were discussing a plan, but I didn't hear anything specific. I'm sure it has to do with Harry's lessons. I think... I'm _certain_ Dumbledore does not plan for Harry to be at Hogwarts much longer."

"Merlin..." murmured Ron.

"Don't tell Harry what I've just told you!" Hermione admonished him. "He's got too much on his mind already. Dumbledore will tell him when the time is right."

"I won't," said Ron, and Hermione believed his earnestness. She grabbed his hand.

"I'm sorry, Ron. If things were different, I think tomorrow would have been a really lovely date."

"Yeah."

Hermione felt a lump rise in her throat at the sight of Ron's shoulders sagging.

"Do you want to sneak down to the third-floor with me? One last time?"

She smiled weakly. He looked away.

"You don't... you don't have to, I just... don't want to end it like this."

Ron swiped at his eyes with his sleeve at lightning speed, as if he hoped she wouldn't notice. He met her eyes.

"Let's go."

Hermione did love Ron, despite his faults. If they ever got the chance, perhaps there would be a future for them after all, once he grew up a bit.

Hermione tried not to listen to the voice of reason in the back of her mind that reminded her there would likely come a time when Ron learned of her necessary marriage to Snape. Would she be forced to pretend it was real, even with her closest friends? They would never believe it.

Ron went to Hogsmeade with Harry and Ginny the next day, while Hermione stayed in the castle claiming she did not feel well. She completed all of her assignments early and read for an hour for pleasure. Eventually giving up when her dull, nagging headache became a steady, pounding one, Hermione took herself to the infirmary for some relief.

Madam Pomfrey dosed her with a strong Headache Potion and sent her on her way, admonishing her not to worry too much about her studies and to take breaks when reading.

Walking through the main corridor toward the Great Hall for lunch, Hermione was so caught up in her thoughts she did not notice Professor Snape appear at her side.

"Miss Granger... _Miss Granger!_ "

She stopped walking and looked at him. He looked positively irate.

"I'm sorry, Professor, I didn't see you. I have a lot on my mind."

She glared at him, annoyed by his foul mood.

"The headmaster wishes to see us in his office after dinner. Seven o'clock."

Dread filled Hermione's chest. Snape turned without another word and walked away briskly.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7: A Solemn Vow**

As Severus was unable to promise he would be able to supervise the dunderheaded masses in Hogsmeade without causing bodily harm to those who dared cross his path, Albus permitted him to stay in the castle and work. Minerva was ordered to replace him, and she complied with brittle annoyance. When Dumbledore said Severus was needed elsewhere, she was often the one asked to pick up the slack.

He spent the majority of the morning in his rooms in preparation for that evening reading through his notes. Just before lunch, he collected his findings and scribblings, threw back a swig of firewhiskey for good measure, and went to find the manipulative bastard.

"If it's to be done in haste, it must still be done well," he offered by way of explanation when Albus gave him a questioning look. Severus had just tossed his stack of research on top of the ancient tome the headmaster was examining.

"Ah, so you've found a solution to the problem of _how_ the union shall be performed?"

"I had no choice, since you would have bound me to a barely-legal witch with little recourse beyond Blood Magic, should I decide that is _not_ how I wish to live out the entirety of my days.

Albus just gave him a pained look.

"Severus..."

"I'm well aware that I will most likely be dead before such a trifling matter need be addressed. As you so often remind me, though, a life without hope is the worst kind of misery."

With that blasted twinkle in his eye, Albus nodded.

"Very well. What do you propose?"

Severus pushed the top piece of parchment toward the headmaster.

"I believe the spell could be slightly altered so that a dissolution of the vows would be made easier. I can't count on you to be around to assist with the ordeal, so this seems to be an alternative."

Albus read over his annotations a few times, rubbing his beard lightly in thought.

"It appears to be sound, Severus. It would be preferable to leave Blood Magic out of it, but it must have enough strength that he will not want to add to it." He looked up at Severus. "Have her come tonight. I fear it cannot wait even one more day."

Severus had known the command was coming, but it still filled him with rage. Would there ever be a day when he was not at the mercy of either a murderous madman or a demanding puppet-master? Probably not, and now he would be directly responsible for Granger's life as well. How Albus expected him to keep her safe when his own life was continuously in peril was a mystery. And what would happen to the girl once he performed Albus' other request and it all went to hell? She could not stay at Hogwarts with him when she was supposed to be by Potter's side. Albus had insisted for years that she would be with Potter in the end.

Precisely at seven o'clock, Severus stood outside the headmaster's office waiting for his soon-to-be wife. She appeared seconds later, still dressed in her school robe, which stank of the Potions classroom. Severus could not help sneering at her.

"Glad to see you've dressed appropriately for the occasion, Granger."

She glared at him, as she did so often recently.

"Forgive me for thinking it would be wise not to draw attention to myself, _sir._ I don't normally change clothes for a meeting with the headmaster."

As they started walking up the spiral staircase, Severus scoffed, "You smell like you've been doused in one of Longbottom's regrettable attempts at brewing. Are those Eastern Troll Beetle stains on your sleeve?"

She huffed loudly from behind him on the staircase.

"If you must know... yes, I was helping Neville brew this evening." A pause. "Does it really smell that bad? I used three cleansing spells!"

Severus smirked, feeling his mood lighten a bit.

"Unfortunately, Miss Granger, your sleeves will now smell of putrid beetle guts for a few months. I take it Horace did not bother to mention that any stains must first be soaked in orange oil before attempting a cleansing spell. You've only managed to set them deeper into the fabric and imbue them with magic."

"Brilliant," she muttered.

They entered the office. Albus was nowhere in sight. Severus sighed.

"Have a seat, Granger. You look like you're about to faint."

She dropped into a chair and stared at her hands, which were clasped in her lap. Severus paced the floor in front of her. He did not stop until he heard the knob of the door to the headmaster's room turn. Albus came through seconds later.

"Good evening, Severus... Hermione."

He closed the door slowly and turned around.

"If you are ready, we shall begin."

He looked pointedly at Hermione, who finally nodded.

"Very well. Please stand facing one another."

They complied silently.

"Now, Severus, hold your hands out in front of you with your right palm turned up."

Severus did so while refusing to look at Hermione.

"Hermione, please do the same."

Albus drew his wand.

"Now both of will place your left hand, palm down, into the right hand of your partner."

Severus felt her small, clammy hand slide into his. He gently curled his fingers around it and looked down, moving his own left hand into her upturned palm. Her fingers trembled lightly against his own calloused palm.

"Get on with it, Albus," he ordered tersely, noticing that the old man was studying their faces instead of preparing to cast the spell. Albus drew a breath and raised his wand.

" _I_ _ncipiunt votum solemne –_ these two have gathered to be united in the solemn vow of matrimony."

He traced a large circle in the air, the circumference encompassing both of their faces. Faint traces of light emanated from the tip of his wand along the way.

" _A_ _mare fortitudinem virtute –_ power and strength shared."

Another circle was traced, and this time the light seemed brighter and lingered in the air.

" _Praesidio promiserat, fide promiserat –_ protection and loyalty promised."

His wand pointed first at Severus, then at Hermione, and back again. The air around them hummed and grew yet brighter.

" _Reciproca votum in amore vicissim, omni tempore vivit –_ Vowed to one another in life and love. _Tenetur invisibilium._ "

Albus touched the tip of his wand to Severus' left ring finger, then to Hermione's. All the light hanging between them vaporized instantly and Severus' hand burned where the wand had brushed it.

Severus dropped Hermione's hands.

"You could have done without the love nonsense, Albus, as _feelings_ are irrelevant to the matter."

Severus glanced smugly at Hermione, who wore a look of disgust. Albus smiled faintly.

"Indulge an old man, Severus. I may never have another opportunity to perform marriage vows, and I wanted to do it properly." He flexed his fingers a few times. "That was quite invigorating. My fingertips are still tingling..."

Hermione cleared her throat.

"So... what happens now?"

Albus gave her a kind nod.

"You may return to your dormitory, Hermione. As this is a secret union at the moment, you must tell no one and be careful to act normally. Your friends and classmates should not suspect what measures we have taken to place you under Severus' protection."

She was looking at Severus. He smirked.

"Do take care not to go scribbling your new name about in the margins of your notes... Mrs. Snape."

"I'll do my best, _Severus,_ " she retorted.

"Ah, I think not," he said reprovingly. "I am still 'sir' to you. Never. Forget that."

She glared at him once more in silence. Out of the corner of his eye, Severus saw Albus giving him a significant look.

"Come, Hermione. Albus is a busy man, and we're just one item on his list tonight."

Severus ushered her out, unhappy with what he had yet to do. As soon as he shut the door to the office, his light hand on her shoulder because a firm grasp on her elbow. Willing his mind elsewhere, he pulled her in close and crushed her mouth under his. He immediately felt the last warm tingle of the finished vow wash over him, sending prickling chills over his skin as it faded.

She gasped and stared up at him, frozen in his grasp. She would have felt the magic, too, and he willed her to comprehend what had just happened. Releasing her, he laughed.

"What's wrong, Hermione?"

Her confusion morphed into anger before his eyes. He held that fierce, accusatory gaze and whispered, "The next time you are kissed, you will want it."

 _Because I hope never to do that again,_ he finished in his head. He tried to communicate his apology without speaking, as she continued to stare at him.

"Okay," she said at last, and turned to descend the stairs.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8: Life as a Wife**

Hermione was surprised to find that she felt no different, and life did not change much in over the next couple weeks. Ron's absence was felt in the evenings but she was happy that the decision to break it off with him had been made for her. The Ministry did not fall, Voldemort made no more obvious moves, and Harry did not leave Hogwarts.

It was not until seventh years Flora Talbot and Esther Dodd suddenly disappeared, followed by Megan Jones a week later, and then Leanne Hawkins and Oliver Rivers, that Hermione realized it was happening. The Muggle-borns who had come of-age were going into hiding.

Snape was silent on the matter, not that Hermione dared press him for information. She would have to go through Dumbledore, and who knew if the headmaster was really telling her even half of what was happening.

The strange, rushed marriage in Dumbledore's office felt like it had been a dream. She often peered at her left ring finger, looking for some evidence of the magical bond that had entered her body there, but it was a spotless as ever. Sometimes, though, when she was in Defense class, it tingled or itched... but that was probably just her imagination.

After class one day, she hung back, ignoring Ron's pleas to help him prepare for McGonagall's exam.

"I'll be there is a minute, Ron!" she snapped at last. "I need to know why I couldn't cast that spell properly!"

He left mumbling to himself.

"Weasley doesn't take rejection well, I see," remarked Snape. Hermione ignored it.

"Does he know about us?"

Snape raised an eyebrow. "Asking a vague question in a rude manner, Miss Granger? You can do better than that. Five points from Gryffindor."

She sighed.

"Does the _Dark Lord_ know about the marriage... _sir_?" He had previously warned her to address his master properly when they spoke. She knew it was to help him keep his cover, but it angered her nonetheless.

"Of course. Did you fail to comprehend that I would be asking him for your hand? He would have been most upset if I had taken such an action without his approval."

"Oh. Right. I figured he knew by now anyway, what with students disappearing every other day."

His eyes widened in a warning and he very slowly blinked twice before answering.

"Which. Students?"

She faltered.

"Ummmm... I thought you knew. Just a couple seventh years... I don't know their names. I just haven't seen them in the school recently."

"Not every upper-level student takes Defense, Granger. If you are unable to produce names, I shall have to investigate the matter myself."

She looked down.

"Yes, sir. I hope they are okay."

She met his eyes again.

"Don't you think Dumbledore is keeping an eye on them? He must know where, or why, they've gone."

"Perhaps," he replied.

If they were discussing a topic that might interest Voldemort, he often signaled her to be evasive with specifics. She was to act as if she did not completely trust him. Some doubt on her part was necessary, if the Dark Lord was to believe that Snape was truly his. Even before this was spelled out for her, Hermione had realized that when they were with Dumbledore Snape treated her with detached respect, but when they were alone he became more authoritative and occasionally mocked her. However, it seemed he always found some way to let her know it was a necessary act.

That kiss after their marriage had been one such act. She could tell as soon as it was over that he was sorry to have done it. She had also felt the telltale rush of magic that accompanied it, making her shiver as it dissipated. Had the kiss been required to seal the spell? Why had it been done out of Dumbledore's sight, and why had he made it look as if he was just trying to scare her? She had tried to memorize the exact words of the incantation Dumbledore used, but was not sure she had it right. It seemed fairly typical of a marriage union, the sort that was not easily reversed. She knew that fact should bother her, but she couldn't seem to make herself believe it mattered. There was a good chance that neither one of them would be alive long enough to worry about ending the union.

With much over which to speculate and little she could do but wait, Hermione turned to her studies to occupy her mind. She was still practicing Occlumency with Dumbledore, and he seemed happy with her progress.

Then one night, he called her into his office and informed her that her lessons had come to an end. Try as she might to get more information out of him, he simply smiled benignly, told her to always trust Snape, and sent her on her way.

Harry went to Dumbledore the next night, and Hermione wished she could accompany him. She was sitting in the common room with Ron when a first year with a terrified look on his face entered through the portrait hole and approached them.

"What's the matter, Robert?" she asked with concern.

"Professor Snape wants to see you in his office," he said. "He told me that if you weren't there in ten minutes he would give me detention."

"Oh, for the love of..." Hermione muttered. "Don't worry, Robert. I'll go right now."

"What could _he_ want?" asked Ron skeptically.

"Who knows," Hermione said in exasperation. He wasn't making it easy, pulling stunts like this when he wanted to speak to her.

She hurried down to his office, despite knowing that his threat to Robert Garst had been an empty one.

The door was open, so she walked right in, tapping on the door frame with her knuckles.

"Professor? You wanted to see me?"

He appeared from behind the open door of the cabinet beside his desk and in a few long strides was in front of her. He thrust something furtively into her palm with one hand – a glass vial – and grasped her shoulder with his other one.

"There are some things you must keep to yourself, until the end."

Hermione quickly pocketed the vial without breaking eye contact. He blinked twice.

"My death will be demanded in the end... yet I expect to live, with a little Slytherin luck. Tonight shall go as planned. Do not think you will soon be rid of me. Connected as we are... no matter where you go or _who you are with_ , I shall be able to find you. Once circumstances are more favorable, I hope to return here."

She let his words sink into her memory, knowing something terrible must come to pass for them to make sense.

She nodded.

"Now, leave me," he said, and turned away from her.

It was not until an hour later that she saw what he had been trying to hide from her in his eyes, as she and Luna were safely tucked away in a classroom. The dark, soul-deep dread that had surfaced in his mind at that moment shone out through his eyes like a beacon before he left them, or so it seemed to Hermione.

Then they heard the news of Dumbledore's death that night, and she had realized that whatever the rest of _the plan_ was, it was darker and more complex than she could have imagined.

It was not until Harry told them what he had seen on the tower that she realized how difficult her part would be to play. She must not let Harry know that Snape was on their side. She must allow him to be hated by all who had trusted him.

After the funeral, Hermione had more time to reflect on how reflexively she had trusted Snape even as she heard from Harry's own lips how he had taken Dumbledore's life as the old wizard begged. Her mind immediately went to work, finding holes in the story, reinterpreting every word and action.

Could Dumbledore have been wrong about Snape? Hermione knew the chances that were rather slim, and she remembered clearly the fast progression of the curse that had blackened and shriveled his hand. The headmaster's sleeves had occasionally slid up his arm during their lessons, far enough to reveal that the affected area was traveling up past his elbow in a thin, intricate web of lines. His days had been numbered by whatever curse had done that to him, and he had been perhaps irreparably weakened by his last adventure with Harry by the time they had returned to Hogwarts. He might have died anyway within hours.

It was highly probable that Harry's help with the locket had been planned to take place on the day that Draco succeeded in breaking the Death Eater's into the castle and descended upon the headmaster. Requiring Snape to be the one to end his life was just the sort of thing Dumbledore would do – it kept him from falling into Voldemort's hands in a weakened state, it would make Voldemort trust Snape all the more and hopefully keep him at Hogwarts to protect the students, and it would spare Draco from committing such an act. There were probably other reasons for having Snape do it that Hermione did not know.

Snape had not wanted to do it, of that Hermione was certain. All the remarks she had heard him make about Dumbledore requiring too much of him, of demanding yet another sacrifice of him – which she had thought were related to being forced to marry her and protect her – now made sense. The marriage had been the unpalatable icing on top of a cake formed of years of loyalty, sacrifice, and service. A marriage was nothing – Dumbledore had also asked him to risk losing a small part of his soul for the plan. What else would be required of Snape – and the rest of them – before it was all over? No less than everything they were willing to give to see Voldemort ended once and for all, and they had been chosen precisely because they would give anything to rid the world of that evil.

Hermione packed and attempted to portray the appropriate amount of depression over the headmaster's death, and of course, anger at Snape. She felt much less than everyone around her, and went through the motions in a numb state, aware that life was about to become unimaginably difficult. There would not be time to properly mourn. She must go home and get her parents into hiding, and then join Harry and Ron at The Burrow for Bill and Fleur's wedding. Why they were attempting to have a ceremony, putting their guests lives in peril by asking them to travel and congregate in one place, the home of a family who rejected blood purity beliefs, Hermione could not understand. Harry insisted that people should still try to live life without constant fear, but Hermione could tell that even he did not believe it mattered. Dark days were swiftly approaching.

She did not know where Snape was at the moment. He had said he would find her, so she waited. She had closely examined the little vial of yellow-green shimmering liquid with gold flecks that teased the eye, using as many spells as she dared to try to figure out what it might be, but it remained a mystery. It was obviously incredibly potent, placed in a vial of finest crystal that was sealed and protected by multiple strong, long-lasting containment and stasis charms. There was no label or writing to give her a hint as to what it might be or how it was to be administered, but the vial did have an etched snake in the shape of an 's' on the bottom. She wondered if it was something for Harry to use immediately before facing Voldemort, based on what he had said as he thrust it into her hand. He had been clear that it was to use in the end.

Hermione was eating her last meal at Hogwarts, perhaps the last she would ever eat there, when the mail came. Everyone was receiving last-minute correspondence from their families urging them to be careful, travel together, and not to leave the train station until they were with relatives. Some were probably receiving last minute changes of plan, with secret instructions to meet in unpredictable places, from which they would Apparate into hiding.

Voldemort did not attempt anything at the train station as the students quickly fled into their families' arms. The platform cleared out faster than Hermione had ever seen before. Her parents, being unaware of the potential danger, took their time until they noticed that they were the only ones left standing near the now-empty train.

"Why is everyone in such a hurry?" wondered her mother. "I've never seen a platform clear so fast in my life!"

"We should be going, too, Mum," said Hermione quietly. "I'll explain at home."

As they left, Hermione was nearly run over by a tall man walking very quickly in the opposite direction. She felt a hand swipe at her purse as he knocked into her shoulder and shouted, "Hey!"

But the man did not stop, and her purse remained on her arm. She quickly checked to make sure her coin purse was still inside. Along with the usual contents of her bag, she found a small, folded bit of parchment with the words 'spell a rat's name and reveal' written on it in familiar cramped script.

She held the parchment in her hand until they reached her parents' car, where she surreptitiously whispered 'P-E-T-E-R' and cast a Revealing Charm. Nothing happened. She tried spelling 'Pettigrew' instead, and still nothing. Finally, she stole a pen from her mother's cupholder and wrote 'Pettigrew' on the parchment before trying the spell again. The words faded and were replaced with a few sentences in Snape's handwriting.

 _You must come to me before joining your friends. Do not stay long at your parents' house. I will be watching. At eleven o'clock tomorrow night, walk outside and stand under the willow tree in your backyard._

Hermione tapped her wand on the note twice, and it turned to dust. She would not have enough time to convince her parents to flee their home of twenty-five years. They were incredibly stubborn and independent people, and not inclined to believe the magical world should tell them what to do.

Nevertheless, she tried, and just as predicted they told her they would need some time to decide how, if, and when they would follow her plan, which involved taking an indefinite vacation to Australia, where they had no relatives or connections.

It was almost eleven when Hermione jumped up from her seat at the kitchen table and said, "I can't believe you won't take me seriously!"

"Hermione, we are! We just want to sleep on it before we make any decisions. You've dropped a bomb on us, coming home like you did, acting like we could be ambushed any minute, telling us there are people who want to abduct you, asking us to run away and hide from magical people who might torture us for information... honey, it sounds like a terrible movie plot. We _are_ worried, we _do_ believe that you're in danger. We just need some time to think. Perhaps there's a better way to protect ourselves than moving to Australia, of all places!"

Hermione just sighed..

"I'm going outside for a minute," she said. "I need some air."

She closed the door to the back porch firmly behind her, so that she would be able to hear it open again if one of her parents decided to come looking for her. Hugging her arms to herself, she meandered down to the willow tree and ducked under the branches.

"Professor Snape?" she whispered cautiously, waiting for her eyes to adjust to the shadows. One of them moved, just by the trunk of the tree, and soon the black-draped figure of the most wanted murderer in Britain after Voldemort himself was standing before her. He looked down wordlessly at her. In the dim light of the moon and her parents' porch light, his face appeared to have aged ten years since she had last seen it.

"Tell me what I need to know quickly," she said. "I'm in the middle of an argument with my parents."

He reached out and grabbed her left hand, pulling it up to his face, staring intently at her fingers. Slowly, he brought his own left hand up to his mouth and pressed his lips to the back of his ring finger. Instantly, her own started to warm and burn, and a thin, faint gold line glowed where a ring would rest, until he dropped his hand back down again.

"Oh! That's brilliant!" she said softly.

"For when you are in trouble," he said, just as quietly. "Or have urgent information for me. We will need to work out other means of communication as well. I hope you have kept your things packed. You will come with me tonight."

"But I can't leave now! I must get my parents into hiding first!"

"How do you plan to accomplish it?"

She suddenly felt rather foolish.

"Well, I was in the middle of convincing them that they should move to Australia without a trace, just now. I was hoping to go with them for a vacation, them return without them. I told them they mustn't write or tell me where they end up."

He smirked at her.

"And how was that going, Granger?"

She glowered at him.

"My only other option is mind and memory charms," she answered. "And even though I'm sure I can do the magic, I... I'm afraid to mess with their heads. What if I make a mistake and they're never the same? I can't do that – I can't!"

She felt herself beginning to lose control, putting voice to the inner struggle she had been having for months as she anticipated the end of the school year.

Snape stood very still, looking down at her for some minutes in silence. She wiped the excess water from her eyes before it became actual tears.

"I will assist you with the memory modifications," he said at last. "Do you have an address to which they will go in Australia?"

Hermione nodded.

"I had a few options in mind... it's all inside. They've been reading over my plan this evening."

"A Calming Draught would have been helpful," he said. Hermione smiled.

"I have one," she said, and he gave her a stern look. "Never mind how I got it – we need it, don't we?"

"Go inside and administer the Calming Draught," he said. "Signal me after five minutes, once the effects have stabilized."

Hermione did as she was told. Snape walked in through the back door once her parents were calmly sitting on the sofa, empty cups of tea still in their hands. They hardly seemed surprised to see a strange, black-clad wizard appear in their living room.

"Hello," said her mother serenely. "Are you one of Hermione's professors?"

"He's come to tell us to listen to our daughter and pack our bags," observed her father with eery accuracy.

Hermione did the talking, and Snape did most of the spell work. Soon her parents were sent off to bed, with orders to wake in the morning and go straight to the airport to catch their plane to Australia, where they would find a modest flat to rent and look for new jobs. They would not remember that they had a daughter, or that a magical world existed, hidden from their eyes.

Once her parents had walked themselves upstairs to bed, Hermione turned to Snape.

"Thank you."

He was standing by the front window, peering through the tiny slit in the curtains. Hermione was suddenly overwhelmed with gratitude to him for helping her do what needed to be done, after he had just carried out those final, terrible orders from Dumbledore. Severus Snape seemed to exist to do the things nobody else could – or would – do.

"Take my arm," Snape ordered. He was now by her side. Hermione obeyed, and they Disapparated.

They arrived heavily in a tiny bedroom lit only by a single lamp. Hermione grabbed onto Snape's arms as her legs fought to keep her upright after the jarring lurch of side-along apparition. He pulled her up with stiff arms and set her on her feet. Hermione found that gesture so reassuring, exhausted and emotionally drained as she was at that moment, that she pressed forward and clung to him, taking handfuls of his black robe into her fists, resting her head against his chest.

For a few seconds, he allowed her to lean against his tense, unyielding frame. Then, he pushed her away, just hard enough that she landed on the bed behind them.

"You should rest," he said, his face blank. "We shall begin your preparations to return to Potter in the morning."


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9: Communication is the Key**

Severus had three weeks to get Hermione ready for her mission. She insisted that she return to the Burrow no later than a week before Bill Weasley's wedding. The Weasleys had expected her a week before that at the latest, but Severus refused to allow her to go that soon.

"How should I explain my absence?" she asked, angrily. "Obviously, I'm not getting mail here. My parents have disappeared. They probably think I've been abducted and married off or killed already!"

He allowed her to glare at him for a moment, cheeks flushed, before he answered.

"You are going to write a letter to Ron Weasley, saying that you are on vacation with your parents – anywhere but Australia, obviously – and explain that you would like to spend time with them before traipsing off with Potter to save the world, as you will likely never see them again. Weasley will show the message to his mother, who will understand and support your wishes. When you arrive at the Burrow, you shall explain that you have modified your parents' memories to erase your existence and do not wish to talk about your last weeks with them."

Hermione crossed her arms.

"What if something happens while I'm gone, Harry and Ron go off alone, and they have no way to reach me?"

"I will know if Potter is in any danger. We have... some time. Potter will remain safely in the home of his relatives until his seventeenth birthday. He was sternly warned by Albus to remain there until the Order comes to collect him, and is under continuous watch. If all goes as planned, you will be at the Burrow before Potter arrives."

Hermione sighed.

"Fine. What are you going to teach me that will take three weeks?"

Severus smirked.

"Everything you need to know to keep Potter alive."

She held his gaze.

"That seems unlikely, unless you think I'm a match for Vol- er, the Dark Lord himself."

Severus sat down at the kitchen table with her, deep in thought. He was thankful that Wormtail had been sent to Malfoy Manor to 'help' Lucius and his family as they hosted meetings and housed a revolving door of Death Eaters. It would have been tedious to speak to Hermione in coded phrases and sneak her out for more sensitive conversations if the rat had been ordered to stay with Severus.

So far, Voldemort had not yet expressed much of an interest in Hermione. Severus already planned to use supposed information from her to report the date of Harry's removal by the Order to the Death Eaters. It was part of the plan, as Albus reminded him whenever he popped into the small portrait frame he kept in his inner robe pocket. Voldemort would have absolutely no doubts about his loyalty, and it was Severus' task to ensure both Harry and Hermione would be survive to continue the plan.

It would be risky to convince Voldemort that Hermione still trusted Severus, and it would be even more difficult to convince him that she continued to trust him once Death Eaters ambushed Harry and the rest of the Order. If they played their parts in the right way, though, it was plausible.

As far as the Dark Lord knew, Severus was currently looking for Hermione and her parents as they fled the country after Dumbledore's death.

"You think you can convince her to trust you?" the Dark Lord had asked, a dangerous smile growing on his face. "You always were... ambitious, Severus."

"The girl was ordered to trust me by Dumbledore himself," said Severus. "If I find her, and promise to protect her family, explaining that Dumbledore's death was all part of the plan... yes, I believe she will cooperate. It would be much preferable to have her as a source. I have reason to believe that Potter might find ways to communicate with the girl, even while in hiding. I could send her out in search of him. He will trust her."

His plan was approved, and Severus had gone to collect Hermione immediately. Severus observed Hermione across the table, sipping her tea.

"You will learn to filter and feed me information," he said. "In this, yes, you will be a match for the Dark Lord. Later, there will come a time when he must not suspect that you still trust me. You will learn to give me what I need to keep him from ending you and Potter before you've begun. You will appear to be tracking Potter... when in reality you will be moving him from one location to another as needed. You must make sure they are secure locations, and you must also take care to be seen in public without Potter or Weasley from time to time. You will not be targeted when you are alone. You may still be followed, though, so you will have to be vigilant."

She eyed him.

"Won't the Dark Lord wonder why you can't just come find me... or us... yourself? Doesn't the marriage vow help you track me?"

"If there comes a time when he demands that I use our marriage bond to follow you, I will regrettably inform the Dark Lord that either Dumbledore figured out how to modify that part of the vows without my knowledge, or that you have found a way to muddy the signal and no longer trust me. You will be on your own at that point."

Severus reached into his pocket and pulled out the oval frame. Dumbledore was not in it at the moment.

"Once I am back at Hogwarts, this will be in your possession. It is a miniature portrait of Albus Dumbledore. This is one way that we can communicate with one another."

He wrapped the frame back in its cloth and tucked it away again.

"Dumbledore gave his portrait information and instructions that we are not to know yet. Not everything the portrait tells you will come from me."

She nodded.

"There are a few other ways we can communicate. The link the vow made in our hands will work only when pressed to your lips as you focus your thoughts on me. Try it now."

Hermione lifted the back of her hand to her mouth slowly, unblinking. His left ring finger began to tingle and warmed quickly.

"Good. Now, I assume you are able to produce a corporeal patronus?"

She nodded again.

"Most of the time, yes."

"Our first lesson will be to learn how to embed a message into your patronus."

She opened her mouth to speak, but he anticipated her question.

"And the second lesson will be to encode a password. Passwords will be numbered. You will begin making a list immediately of at least twenty, which you will number and commit to memory. This is one instance where your ability to memorize vast quantities of information verbatim will be useful."

Her mouth opened once more, but again he continued.

"The third lesson will be to return a message-bearing patronus nonverbally to the sender, before it is observed by others."

She sat silently for a moment.

"Oh. Is that all?"

"Hardly. That is all for this week, unless you are a _very_ good student."

She stood and took her cup to the sink, washing it quickly by hand. Severus watched her, noticing the slight stiffness in her arms, the straight line of her back, and the set of her mouth. She was hiding her fear well, all things considered.

"There's a lot more you haven't told me about _the plan_ , isn't there?" she asked, without looking at him.

He stood and brought his own cup to the sink, quickly cleansing it with a silent spell from his wand and setting back in the cupboard.

"I suspect there is much I am yet ignorant of as well," he said. "As it seems I will be taking orders from a portrait now."

She placed her freshly dried cup carefully next to his, then turned to look up at him with fire in her eyes.

"Dumbledore _did_ ask too much, and he still does. HOW am I supposed to help Harry, and keep him safe, when none of us has the slightest idea of where to start this... this mission? Harry certainly doesn't! If Dumbledore had told him anything more useful he would have told me by now."

Severus simply stared at her, seeking entrance into her mind, but even in her state of anxiety she was well-guarded. He did not push the matter.

"And now... and now you want me to be a spy, and help Harry while giving you fake information that makes it sound like I trust you. Then, I'm to pretend I _don't_ trust you, and secretly keep you updated on my whereabouts, all the while managing not to be killed by Death Eaters or brought to the Dark Lord for interrogation. Am I missing anything?"

"Yes," he said, not knowing whether he was smiling or grimacing.

"What?"

"That is next week's lesson."


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10: Prelude to a Battle**

Hermione spent the second week of her time with Snape learning to act. Snape called it 'creating plausible memories and emotions' with which to lie to even the most accomplished of Legilimens. They practiced scenarios in which Snape reverted to his past self, cruel, vindictive, and petty, and Hermione was to be frightened, nervous, and accidentally give up too much information while keeping her true feelings and memories hidden. Once she had mastered those scenarios on the third day, Snape abruptly told her to go have some lunch.

"Aren't you coming?"

He did not meet her eye.

"I have business with the Dark Lord. I expect to return before dinner."

Hermione kept her thoughts calm.

"Can you... tell me what it is?"

"No."

She silently accepted that response and turned to go to the kitchen, willing her heart to stop trying to drop out of her chest. He had not left her alone since they came to the house. He had not returned to Voldemort since before she had taken the Hogwarts Express home.

Hermione looked back, and noticed that he had not moved. His hooded cloak was waiting on the coat rack. As she watched him move toward the door, she had an idea.

"Wait."

Hermione hurried over to where he stood, hand poised over the coat rack. She placed her hand over his as it fell to rest on the cloak. Looking into his eyes with as much earnestness as she could convey, she placed her other hand on his upper arm.

"I trust you, Severus Snape."

He grabbed the black fabric, shaking her hand off, and threw the cloak over his shoulders, raising the hood while holding her gaze.

"How... reassuring," he remarked. "I shall know if you attempt to escape or attempt to contact the Order."

She moved closer to him and whispered, "I won't."

Her face only inches from his, she made a point to let her eyes fall to his mouth for a moment before returning his stare once more. He exhaled, his breath tickling her face, and seemed to lean almost imperceptibly closer to her. Then he smirked.

"Good girl."

He pushed past her without another word. Hermione sighed as the door shut behind him. Perhaps he could use that memory to convince Voldemort's she was the sort of young witch who could be fooled into trusting the Dark Lord's most trusted servant. Perhaps if she pretended to have developed an infatuation with him, it would explain why she would so exceedingly stupid, when by all other accounts she was an incredibly smart witch.

They had not discussed it as part of the plan, but Hermione rather thought it would be the most believable. There was sure to be a discussion when he returned.

She practiced her Patronus Charms for a while, then sat down with the books Severus had given her, looking for the highlighted sections that were annotated with his writing: useful survival spells, counter-curses, various charms and jinxes for moving about undetected, and a few books on the Mind Arts. Why hadn't Dumbledore thought to prepare her in these ways? It seemed rather careless to leave it up to Snape and herself to do it all.

True to his word, Snape was back just before dinner. He Apparated into the upstairs bedroom as usual – where the wards were set to allow only him to do so – and walked down the stairs so quietly that Hermione nearly fell out of her chair when she saw him. He went to the kitchen without a word and she heard him set something down on the table.

Getting up to investigate, she peered around the door frame cautiously, trying to gauge his mood. He was washing his hands thoroughly, ignoring her. There was a bag of groceries on the table with a loaf of bread and some greens sticking out of it. Their meals had thus far consisted of bread, cheese, the odd raw fruit or vegetable, various soups and beans from what seemed to be a stockpile of canned goods, and tea. There were also a few gallons of milk in a refrigerator, a strange sight in a magical home. It seemed to be running on unknown magic and a few stasis charms.

Her mouth watered at the thought of some variety in her diet. She longed to nose through the bag, but instead looked over at Snape.

"Everything all right?"

He did not answer as he dried his hands. Hermione began to worry. She peered into the grocery bag.

"Oh! So many vegetables... a salad? And what's this? Rice... and something from the butcher?"

She turned and looked at him.

"What's the occasion?"

He had turned around and was pulling a frying pan from the cupboard.

"I raided the Malfoy's kitchen on my way out," he said flatly. "There is a particular house-elf at their manor who has taken it upon herself to send me off with armfuls of food and produce. Apparently I look underfed."

Hermione laughed, but he did not seem amused. There were also muffins, biscuits, three apples, and an enormous slice of chocolate cake inside the bag. Snape was standing still, looking at the stovetop.

"Would you... uh, like me to help with dinner?"

He gave her a blank look.

"Have you any skill in the kitchen? I was under the impression that most young magical folk had never cooked for themselves before."

"I could cook if I needed to!" she said, though her skills were quite limited, mainly to breakfast foods and tea.

"Go back to your reading," he said. "I need no assistance, and you need to be ready for next week's lessons."

Hermione left him standing in the kitchen, annoyed. She could have at least chopped vegetables, and stayed out of his way.

She picked up her book again, but she did not make it far before the smells wafting out of the kitchen made her stomach growl. By the time she heard the thunk of the dinner plates on the table, she was ravenous.

Setting her book aside, she joined him at the table without a word. Her plate was full of rice, chicken, and stir fried vegetables. It smelled heavenly.

"This is amazing."

He sat down heavily.

"You haven't even tasted it yet."

She promptly took a bite and made a small sound of approval. Snape ate without looking at her.

"You may have your salad tomorrow for lunch," he finally said, halfway through his meal.

"What about that cake I saw in there?" she asked slyly.

"Your dessert, if you wish."

"You don't want any?"

He ate another bite, nearly finished now, and did not answer her. Hermione had soon cleaned her plate as well. Snape got up and took his plate to the sink, cleansing it neatly with a spell and stacking it back in its place. He picked something up off the counter and then leaned against it, watching her, eating biscuits.

Hermione cleaned her own plate and put it away, then scanned the counter for the cake she was now craving. Snape flicked his wand, and the object of her desire floated up off the counter behind him and landed neatly on the table where she had just been sitting. A fork followed.

"Thanks."

They indulged in their desserts in silence for a minute before Snape spoke.

"Your behavior earlier today suggests you have come to the same conclusion as I on the subject of... how we might ensure the Dark Lord believes you have been convinced to trust me."

Hermione felt her cheeks flush immediately. The conversation was happening before she had even finished dessert.

"Er – yes. Is that... do you think that is the best plan?"

He studied her.

"If executed convincingly... yes."

She swallowed the last bite of her cake with some difficulty, wishing for a nice cold glass of milk to help wash it down.

"So... how, uh, convincingly would be enough?"

He smirked.

"I will leave it up to you to decide the specifics. It is _your_ act, after all."

Hermione decided to move on to a related subject.

"Oh, and I was also wondering... about our vows..."

He raised an eyebrow and waited for her to continue.

"Uh, so I'm assuming that when you kissed me," she said quickly. "You were completing the spell that makes our, er – invisible ring signal – work."

He inclined his head and ate another biscuit.

"And Dumbledore said that our vows would have to be the sort that could bind our magic, or else Vol- _I mean the Dark Lord_ would be suspicious. So..."

Hermione paused as he met her eyes again.

"So, I assume that the vows are not yet complete. Since there has been no consummation and that is what is typically required."

He held a half-eaten biscuit between his fingers, staring at her.

"That was never part of _the plan._ Never, Granger. There is no need for it, first of all because our magic is already partially linked by the vows. We will be able assess the overall well-being of one another even when separated by great distances. Second, the Dark Lord would expect me to be repulsed by the idea that I might need or want magical strength from a Muggle-born witch. He might encourage me to... overlook such objections in order to drain you of some power, but in the end he would understand if I could not."

"Yes," said Hermione. "I thought as much, but, uh... what if part of my act were to involve trying to convince you otherwise? Either because I want to help you in whatever way I can, or... or perhaps later, because I hope to access your power?"

He threw the rest of the biscuit in the bin by the counter.

"No. You may introduce hints of a growing attraction as an explanation of your willingness to trust me. Do not attempt outright seduction."

He seemed to find the idea amusing. He probably did not think her capable of convincing seduction. He was probably right.

"Oh, okay, so I'm supposed to pretend I've become infatuated with you but I _don't_ want to make this a real marriage?"

"There are plenty of real, sexless marriages in the wizarding world, Hermione," he said, smirking. "Many fools take the solemn marriage vows without regard for the difficulty that comes with ending them."

Hermione's third week with Snape was relatively uneventful. He made her practice dueling with nonverbal magic day in and day out, something else he admitted was never part of _the plan_. Hermione did not mind the deviation. Dumbledore could roll over in his grave all he wanted – she would rather be over-prepared for her mission than not.

One evening, a couple days before she was to return to the Burrow, Snape handed her a small beaded bag.

"What's this?" she asked suspiciously, running her fingers over the delicate beadwork.

"Something that will prove to be most useful," he replied impatiently. "Open it."

She did as he commanded, and gasped.

"It's HUGE inside! This is the best Undetectable Extension Charm I've ever seen!"

"Thank you."

"You made this? It's incredible!"

She stuck her arm into the deep, narrow bag and brushed her fingers against the slippery inner fabric, which expanded farther on the sides as she pushed against it, its limit unknown.

"I could get lost in there if I climbed inside."

"Don't. But no, you could not 'get lost'. It only expands far enough to accommodate its contents."

"Up to what size?"

He considered.

"It's less a matter of size, and more a matter of weight. Do not put more than twelve times that which you can lift inside."

Hermione laughed.

"I think I can safely say I won't need to carry more than that, unless I have reason to tote a full-size dragon around with me at some point."

"The opening may only be enlarged to a diameter of four feet," he said. Hermione laughed again.

"Oh, fine. No dragons, then."

The day she was to leave, he led her upstairs to the tiny bedroom where they had landed only a few short weeks earlier.

"Stand there by the bed, and do not move," he said tersely. She did as she was told, her eyes never leaving him.

He began walking around the room, pointing his wand at various spots on the walls, floor, and ceiling. Every so often he murmured a spell under his breath. Then, he began pointing his wand at her, and she felt soft caresses of magic teasing her robes and skin. He was now whispering a long series of incantations, flicking his wand with each slight pause.

Finally, he put his wand away and looked at her.

"You are now able to Apparate in and out of this room. You will not be able to bring anyone else with you, unless it is myself. Do not attempt it. The consequences would be... unpleasant."

She nodded.

"You may return here if you are in immediate danger, as a last resort _only_. You will not be able to get into the rest of the house unless I am here to release the containment spells. The room will not reveal itself or open to any but me, so it is a safe space."

She nodded again.

"Understood."

Hermione clutched her beaded bag in one hand, and reflexively checked for the outline of her wand in her robe pocket.

"It is time. You have four days. Remember what you must say."

"I will," she promised.

He took a step back and crossed his arms, waiting. Sensing that it was her cue, Hermione gave him a soft, pleading look.

"Goodbye."

His brow raised ever so slightly. Hermione walked over to him. The obstinate man was not making her act any easier, as he had done all week.

"I do hope I will see you again," she said, looking up at him with wide, fearful eyes.

He looked down his overlarge nose at her.

"If all goes as planned you shall," he said cryptically.

Hermione felt a stab of genuine emotion in her gut, now that she was about to leave him and officially start her mission with Harry. There would never again be a time like the last few weeks with him. From now on when and if they met, it would be rushed, dangerous, and possibly observed by others. They would most often speak in coded messages. The Snape she had seen would disappear again, deep under cover, forgotten.

 _I am not pretending to have an infatuation,_ she realized. _It's real._

How she dared to meet his eyes in that moment, she was not sure. Perhaps he only saw what he expected to see in her actions, or perhaps she was a better Occlumens than she thought. He calmly waited for her to finish her act and leave, unaware of what had just happened inside her head.

She satisfied herself with a brief, light brush of her fingers against his face as she moved the hair that had fallen in his eyes. He flinched and shot her a look of warning.

"Let's not continue to postpone the inevitable, Granger. Go to your friends. Wait for Potter."


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11: Four Funerals and a Wedding**

Severus was not happy with _the plan._ He rarely was, but was especially so at the moment, as he did not wish to be involved in the upcoming battle. There would be serious injuries and likely casualties on both sides, and he had not one, but two young Gryffindors to keep alive at all costs. The problem was, they would be indistinguishable from one another and the rest of the Order members who were posing as Harry, and he could not appear to be protecting them or so much as falter in his pursuit.

Hermione had progressed farther than he had expected in the few weeks she had spent with him in preparation. There may yet be hope for Potter.

Severus had been most surprised by her desire to help create an elaborate and nuanced act for the two of them to follow as _the plan_ unfolded. Something about her enthusiasm bothered him, though. He was rather offended by the idea. Knowing himself to be quite unattractive and unpleasant was one thing – to have a young witch insist she could act well enough to convince someone that she was infatuated with him despite the many obvious objections was another thing entirely.

Why would she even bring up the possibility of acting interested in physical intimacy? It was out of the question – not only did he find the idea of intimacy with a student unappealing, he was not interested in further sealing their marriage vows and creating a stronger link between their magic. He still hoped, however foolishly, to one day live as a free man, and he wanted to be able to end the marriage with as little difficulty as possible if that day came.

Every time they acted out a moment in which she signaled a growing interest in him, it was as if a tiny, sharp knife was being twisted into his chest. It served to remind him that he would probably die soon, leaving behind a short, lonely life marked by hopeless, unrequited love for another Muggle-born witch. Lily's face returned to his mind every time Hermione looked at him with warm, hopeful doe eyes. She had mastered that expression quickly, widening her dark eyes, looking up through thick lashes, bringing forward a light in them that suggested she wished to say far more than she dared.

There was nothing to do but wait, and without Hermione in the house to distract him, the wait was maddening.

Finally, the night of Harry's removal from the Dursleys arrived. Hermione was to try to find a moment to send him a message before they left, informing him who she and Harry would be traveling with for the journey.

The message never came, and when he heard Bellatrix cackle with gleeful anticipation and take off after one of the decoys, his heart nearly stopped. He had no idea which Potter to follow, and no idea who might now be pursuing Hermione through the curse-lit air. He saw a few pairs leaving on broomsticks, and his adrenalin-fueled mind reasoned that she would not be one of them as she could barely stay atop one in normal circumstances. Rodolphus had followed Bellatrix in pursuit of one of the broom-riding Potters sitting behind Nymphadora. Severus did not think they would have put Potter with Tonks, of all people, and assumed he was with Shacklebolt.

Voldemort had gone after Mad-Eye Moody, but Severus knew the old Auror too well. He would have known Voldemort would peg him as the most likely to be protecting Potter and would have insisted that the boy go with someone else.

Severus saw Farling, Reed, and Trip chasing after Remus Lupin. The first two Death Eaters were both powerful and nearly as twisted as Bellatrix, and Trip was their lapdog. He followed them, knowing that whoever was on that broomstick with Lupin was not likely the real Potter and would be horrifically tortured before their death if captured. Lupin would be kept alive as a prisoner and forced to run with Voldemort's werewolves when the full moon came.

He managed to nonverbally stun Reed from some distance behind them without being observed. He quickly gained ground on the sparring duos and was relieved to see the Potter on the broom hit Trip with a bright orange spell that seemed to blind him. The Death Eater veered off into a tree, screaming in pain. Severus saw Farling draw back, feigning injury as well, only to lift his arm as soon as the Potter told Lupin they were safe and take aim at their backs.

Severus sent Septumsempra at the Death Eater's wand hand, praying his reflexes were fast enough. As the spell sliced through the air, Farling sent his bright purple spell toward the pair with a sharp downward slash, just missing his mark as Lupin suddenly veered to the right. Severus' curse glanced off of Farling's wrist as it passed, narrowly missing the Potter's head. A small, flesh-colored object fell as the decoy gave a shout and grabbed his head, looking back to lock eyes with Severus.

"Oi! It's the great, greasy, murdering git!" he shouted in unmistakable Weasley cadence. Severus sneered and broke his pursuit. They disappeared into the night, Farling following them, dripping blood, cursing Severus as he went. He soon gave up chase, as the mark called them. Voldemort believed he had found the true Harry and wanted his servants to be present to witness his triumph over the boy-who-lived.

"What the hell did you hit me with?" Farling shouted.

"Nothing I can't fix if it pleases me," Severus replied. "Later."

They landed and Apparated to the scene of the Dark Lord's battle with what might be the real Harry and Hagrid. Severus was dismayed by the choice of protector, but Hagrid had probably refused to participate unless he could have the honor. Potter was attempting to fight the Dark Lord on the back of a flying motorbike driven by a wizard who had completed even less of a Defense education than the boy-who-lived-despite-learning-nothing.

"He's got him! This is it!" cackled Bellatrix, hopping up and down like a wild-haired, murderous child. Rodolphus was nowhere to be seen, but she did not seem to notice.

Severus watched with no surprise as Potter's wand seemed to protect him of it's own accord and allowed him to escape the Dark Lord once again. He had learned long ago that the usual rules of magic never seemed to apply to Potter, just like the usual rules at Hogwarts had never applied to his father.

Disappearing in a fit of rage, probably to Malfoy Manor to destroy some new part of the grounds, Voldemort left his followers confused, disappointed, and injured at the scene. Severus healed Farling's arm, though he would much rather have finished the job and removed it entirely. An inventory of casualties revealed that the only losses for the other side had been Moody, Potter's owl, and one Weasley's ear. Of the Death Eaters, Trip and Garner were dead, as was Rindhurst, after battling Shacklebolt and his decoy. That pair had been particularly effective combatants, severely injuring Travers and Dosen as well. Judging by the sort of damage done, Severus was certain that at least half of it had come from Hermione's hand. The rest of the lot suffered minor injuries, except for Reed's broken ribs and a few concussions.

"Master should have known it was not Potter we were following," said Travers, as Severus attempted to heal his arm, which had lost quite a bit of skin to burns and some sort of slicing curse. "The boy never aims to kill or maim – he's too weak for it. It's how they knew it was him with the giant half-breed... he tried to disarm Stunpike. You can't mistake the idiotic way he says the incantation!"

Unfortunately, Severus knew exactly what Travers meant.

It was not until early the next morning that Severus received a message from Hermione. Her bear partronus paced impatiently as he struggled to remember the third password after being woken from a deep sleep by its strange, deep, ethereal voice repeating, "Password. Number three. Password. Number Three."

When she had first produced her new, hulking corporeal patronus form, Hermione had peppered him with questions about the meaning of the change. He was no expert on the Patronus Charm, and had told her as such, but he suspected the new form had emerged as she accepted and prepared for her role as Potter's guide and protector. _The plan_ consumed her whole being, much like strong feelings for a love interest, and had obviously effected some change in her disposition.

"I suppose it's for the best," she had remarked. "Now, even if someone does see it, they wouldn't know it's mine."

"Beetle Wings!" he spat at last, satisfying the bear form. It delivered its message.

"I am safely with chosen friends. Prepared to leave after orange vows. The plan is unaltered."

Severus breathed a sigh of relief. She would have Potter in hiding when the Ministry fell. The Burrow would be targeted, despite no evidence to suggest Potter was actually there. Too many people with connections to the near-fully infiltrated Ministry knew about the event, and had not been careful enough in keeping that knowledge to themselves. The Order was far too optimistic in their estimation of Voldemort's current reach.

The next month brought little information from Hermione. She had not revealed where they were, but Severus knew their location was Grimmauld Place. Several Death Eaters claimed to have seen frequent instances of magical folk disappearing into thin air, in a manner which suggested it was the location of a safe house under the Fidelius Charm. Only Potter would be foolish enough to feel safe staying there for any length of time, and Hermione was the only Order member who knew that Severus would not come looking for them there or share the location with Voldemort.

Potter and Weasley's stupidity was remarkable. If they took a few moments to really think about it, they would already be deeply suspicious that Grimmauld Place remained hidden from the Death Eaters. What reason would Severus have for keeping the location from Voldemort, if he was loyal to the Dark Lord?

Then came the report from Yaxley, and the safe house was no more. Furthermore, Hermione was known to have been with Potter, and the Dark Lord would have questions.

Severus managed to convince him that Hermione had been tracking Potter as well, but had lost him in the aftermath of their escape from the Death Eaters. He explained that Potter believed he could trust nobody but his best school mate, the Weasley boy, and was suspicious of Hermione after her disappearance for a few weeks.

Severus would need to see Hermione again soon – he was running of out of useful memories to show the Dark Lord.

They arranged a meeting time, and Severus waited for her that night leaning against the wall of the bedroom where she was expected to appear.

She was late by an hour and ten minutes, but he refused to worry unless he felt his ring finger burn in warning. When she did appear, she immediately apologized.

"Sorry I'm late. The boys were up late talking, and I couldn't get away."

He stood up straight, observing her. She looked thinner, and there were dark circles under her eyes.

"Stop apologizing and follow me," he said, releasing the wards on the room and opening the door.

He led her down to the kitchen, where soup, bread, cheese, and a cup of tea sat under stasis. A small bag of provisions was sitting next to her meal.

"Eat."

She sat down without a word and polished off the entire meal in a matter of minutes. Severus sat at the other end of the table, watching her.

"You're making me anxious, just watching me eat," she said at one point, nearly done.

He cast his eyes elsewhere in the room while she finished. She cleared her throat after sipping her tea.

"The Ministry has started the forced marriages, but I'm not sure why he's bothering. When we were there, I saw Muggle-borns being tried and sentenced for owning wands. One of them was married, a witch with husband who must have at least been a half-blood. It seems Vol – _the Dark Lord –_ is not even following his own mandates."

"If the husband was a half-blood and outspoken Muggle-born rights sympathizer, or otherwise has caused trouble for the Dark Lord's servants at the Ministry, his wife would still be stripped of her wand. If she refused, they would quickly send her to Azkaban. He will probably soon join her. They will make an example of those who resist the new laws."

Hermione put her cup down lightly.

"I wish I could stay here," she sighed. He raised an eyebrow in question.

"You were right. I'm a terrible cook, especially on the run."

She began poking through the bag of provisions, and seemed to approve.

"What do you need from me?"

He stood up and walked swiftly to stand beside her.

"Where is Potter right now?" He blinked twice, holding her gaze. She looked up at him with surprise written on her face.

"I... I don't know the place. It must be one of the National Parks near London. I think he said he'd been camping there as a child. If he realizes I've disappeared again, he'll be gone."

She frowned.

"Wouldn't it be better if you didn't ask me? What if the Dark Lord sees it in your mind? Dumbledore told me what he is capable of."

He smirked and leaned down until his face was inches from hers.

"I thought you trusted me... my dear. Wife."

Eyes wide, her mouth fell slightly open.

"I do. I just worry that every time I talk to you, I put you in more danger. Harry won't admit he needs my help. He says he's trying to protect me."

Severus knelt down, to her eye level.

"Potter is an idiot. You must convince him to trust you. Otherwise he will soon die alone at the hand of the Dark Lord."

She nodded. "I know."

Severus stood abruptly and took her bowl and cup to the kitchen. After a moment, she followed him and stood watching him put the dishes away. He nearly jumped out of his skin when she placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Is there anything else you need?"

He had turned his head so quickly when she touched him that his neck throbbed sharply in protest.

"What are you doing, Granger?" he asked coldly.

She smiled slightly.

"Just asking a question. I should go soon... you know, before Harry has time to run off on me again."

There were the doe-eyes again. She was surprisingly good at playing her part, for a Gryffindor.

"Then I suggest you see yourself out!" snapped Severus, grabbing her offending wrist and snatching her hand off of his shoulder as he turned to face her fully.

She blinked and appeared to be holding back tears.

 _Well done,_ Severus thought, still holding on to her, glaring at her from above. He was not prepared for what happened next.

With lightning speed, she snaked a hand around the back of his neck and pulled him toward her, managing to lock her lips onto his before he could resist.

When he did react, it was not with the decisiveness he should have had. He allowed her to send cool fingertips into his scalp at the base of his neck and relaxed his hold on her arm for a few seconds.

Then, he swiftly spun her around and pinned her arms down, holding her against him.

"If I had wanted you, Granger, I would have had you by now," he said softly. "Run along back to Potter."


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12: No Regrets**

Hermione sat outside the tent in exhausted, near-delirium, reliving her last moments with Snape. She regretted nothing.

After just over a month alone with Ron and Harry, half-starved, moving camp at the first signs of life, she had come to the conclusion that her strange, increasingly desperate attraction to Snape might as well be satisfied. Anything she did could be explained as devotion to _the plan,_ or rather the part of the plan they had devised. If she did not act soon, she might never have another chance. Eventually, they would no longer be able to pretend that she was not with Harry and Ron, or that they weren't doing more than just hiding from Voldemort. At that point, she would have to stage a falling out with Snape, pretending to realize he was loyal to the Dark Lord and only trying to use her. After that, she might never get the chance to act on her infatuation.

Hermione did not know what it was about Severus Snape that made her attraction to Ron seem like a mild, forgotten dream. He was not an attractive man, the only time his wasn't sarcastic was when his mouth was shut, and he had made it quite clear that he was not interested in indulging her curiosity.

Those brief seconds of surrender before he had forcefully ended her kiss gave her hope – he must not find her completely unappealing after all.

Her turns sitting watch always gave her ample time to recall that memory, and a few others that both made her smile and made her chest ache. She might never see him again. That goodbye would not do.

If Hermione had been wearing the locket at that moment, it would have whispered hateful thoughts to her regarding her foolishness, unattractiveness, and inexperience. It would also forcefully remind her that they were no closer to finding and destroying the other Horcruxes than when they had begun, and that she would likely fail her mission and die before it even mattered that Snape would never return her interest.

She peeked inside the tent and listened for the sounds of the boys sleeping before she drew her wand and conjured up her bear patronus. She watched it pace back and forth in front of her, occasionally stopping to look at her for direction.

Hermione stood and walked over to it, reaching out her hand toward its head, letting her fingers brush the electrifying waves of magic that made up the form. She wished she had a message to give it, but they had done little but hide and eat what they could find. Snape's provisions would last a few more days. The boys had been livid when she had come back with the food, assuming she went out in search for it alone.

She had refused to tell them how she had gotten it, just saying that she had used the cloak and been in the right place at the right time. Hermione was worried that one of them would get the idea to try it themselves when the food ran out, and warned them that it was too dangerous to do again, apologizing for going off without them.

Her patronus dispelled, Hermione sat staring into the dark night once more. She felt unsually anxious, though she had not seen or heard anything on her watch that made her worry their location was compromised. Turning her wand in her fingers, Hermione listened to the quiet sounds of the woods where they were camped and cleared her mind.

Suddenly, her stomach pulled itself into a knot, causing her to gasp in discomfort. The feeling ebbed and grew a few times in succession, causing her to stand and begin pacing until it was gone. She must have spent a good twenty minutes after the discomfort faded walking the perimeter of the wards, staring out into the trees. Then, she saw movement out of the corner of her eye.

It was the familiar silver-white light of a patronus, just outside the wards, behind a tree. Squinting, she was sure she could see it pawing the ground with slender hooves. It was Snape's doe, and it was waiting for her, which meant he was likely there hiding in the trees.

Checking once more to make sure the boys were soundly asleep, she tiptoed away from her post. When she arrived at the edge of the wards, she took another long look at the waiting patronus. It was definitely Snape's. She glanced back at the tent, and stepped outside of the protective charms that surrounded it.

Hurrying over to where Snape was hidden, scanning the area as she went even though he would have already made sure it was clear, she strained to find his black-clad form in the darkness. The doe led her a few yards farther into the trees, and then disappeared. As her eyes adjusted, Hermione could see Snape standing in front on her. He must have stepped out from behind the large tree trunk beside them. Her stomach resumed turning over in knots as she looked at him.

"What's wrong?" she asked immediately. "Has something happened just now? Is that why you're here and I feel like I'm about to come out of my skin?"

He stepped forward and grabbed her arm, pulling her back with him behind the tree, which had been warded with it's own protective charms.

"I should be keeping an eye on the tent," she said anxiously. "It's my watch."

"Then let me be brief, and stop talking for a moment," he said calmly. Hermione shut her mouth and stared at him expectantly, standing half an arm's length from him. He let go of her.

"The Dark Lord has sensed Potter's interest in their mind link. He cannot get much from Potter's mind without suffering great pain and taking risks beyond what he considers worthwhile, however... he can still manipulate what Potter sees when he lets the connection control his thoughts. He will be especially vulnerable while asleep."

Hermione had no reply, and waited for him to continue.

"You must encourage him to employ what he knows of Occlumency, and add to his skills where you can. Convince him that anything he sees or senses of the Dark Lord's mind puts all of you in immediate, life-threatening danger."

Hermione started to open her mouth to speak, but he interrupted her question.

"If he resists, or you suspect he is lying about how much he allows the connection to feed into his thoughts, you must tell him that Dumbledore trained you in Occlumency last year and that you believe it was so that you can help him master the skills needed to keep the connection from influencing his mind. Albus did not want Harry to know about your lessons, but if it comes down to it you must be able to train him yourself. Do NOT go putting yourself directly in his head. Use a wand as a barrier if you must demonstrate a technique, and throw him from your mind immediately if he should somehow manage to slingshot himself in... it would be disastrous if he sees me in your head. Let us hope he will cooperate and you will not have to resort to taking that risk."

Hermione nodded.

"Okay."

He sighed and put a hand up to massage his temples.

"Were you just with... _him_?" she asked. He made an affirmative sound in response.

"I could feel it... that it was not going well. Some kind of sympathetic response... I suppose because of the vows? I felt you were in danger. Were you?"

He looked down at her.

"Yes."

"Can you tell me what happened?"

He stared at her, face carefully blank.

"Nothing out of the ordinary. Every meeting with the Dark Lord is potentially life-threatening, Hermione, even for a trusted servant."

Hermione took a quick peek around the tree at the tent in the distance. Satisfied that she had a few moments more, she looked back up at Snape.

Seeing his stoic, guarded eyes locked onto hers brought her emotions quickly to the surface. He was going to leave again, and the only way she would know if he was in danger would be the next time her body started to fill with sudden inexplicable anxiety.

He was resigned to the fact that his life could end at almost any moment, yet still worked tirelessly to complete the plan, keep Hermione and the boys safe, and now the students at Hogwarts as well, as he had been made Headmaster.

A single tear escaped Hermione's right eye and slipped down to rest on her cheekbone. Before it ran any further, Snape wiped it away with his thumb, startling her out of her thoughts. She drew a sharp breath, searching for a hint of what he was thinking in the black, shuttered eyes that held her gaze.

As if in a trance, he lowered his face to hers, his hand still cupping her cheek. She tilted her chin up without needing any prompting, waiting to let her eyes slide close until just before their lips met.

She felt the scope of her senses narrow to focus on nothing else but the two of them, her feet rooted to the spot, heart thumping, his hand sliding around to cup the back of her head, supporting the sharp angle that allowed their mouths to meet in a slow, uncertain dance that quickly grew in confidence. It was like nothing Hermione had ever experienced, and better than anything she had yet imagined.

Letting a soft sigh escape as he broke away, she took the opportunity to place her hands behind his neck, unwilling to let him end the moment so soon. He allowed her to draw him into another kiss, and felt his tentative touch begin on her shoulders, one hand trailing down her arm before slipping around her waist. His hand pressed into her back as she stood on her tiptoes, until she was pressed lightly against him.

Suddenly, his hands came to rest on her hips and he pushed her gently down to flat feet, putting an end to their embrace by straightening to his full height. Hermione looked at him questioningly.

"This is a risk we should not take."

She simply stared up at him, unable to fully comprehend what had just happened or put voice to any thoughts yet. He turned and peered around the tree.

"You should return to your post before you are missed."

"But, I..." She struggled to form a sentence. "You can't just leave _now._ "

He turned back to her, lifting her chin with a light touch, sending a shiver through her.

"I'm afraid I must. I will return soon. Send word if your location changes before that time."

"Won't you need me to come to the house soon? Create a few more memories for you to use?"

"Possibly. I will know more in few days."

"I – "

She was silenced with a demanding kiss that removed any further comment from her mind. He slipped off into the night, disappearing easily into the shadows and tree branches. Hermione sighed and turned back toward the tent and her post.

The boys were still asleep. Nobody would be the wiser as to the reason her heart was still beating too quickly in her chest. Her thoughts were consumed with Severus Snape for the rest of the night. She did not know how she would be able to wait for him to return, hopefully with a few minutes to spare for elaborating on his sudden change of mind regarding her advances.

There was no question that he knew she was expressing her true feelings on the matter – it was not part of their carefully constructed act, and it went against _the plan_ in more ways than one.

It was dangerous, but she did not care. Her life was constantly in peril as it was, and she did not want to waste what precious time she had left _not_ acting on her feelings.

What had changed his mind?

Hermione pondered the question and came up with many others over the next few days. Harry wanted the trio to go look for clues at the orphanage in London where Voldemort had lived as a child. Hermione tried to delay the trip, hoping that Snape would show up before they moved on.

On her next night watch, Hermione sat scanning the forest around the tent for any sign of the silver doe, and sure enough it came, but Harry was sleeping fitfully and Ron had not yet dozed off. He had the radio on a low volume on the pillow next to his head, his preferred way to drift off at night. Hermione stood and looked pointedly in the direction of the doe patronus. She shook her head firmly a few times, and sat back down to wait.

Finally, what must have been twenty minutes later, she checked on the boys again. Ron was asleep and snoring, and Harry had stopped mumbling and kicking at his blankets. Hermione exited the tent once more, looking for the telltale silver shimmer in the trees. Instead, she saw Snape step out from behind one of them, waiting for her.

She walked over to him, willing her mind to be calm and her stomach to stop somersaulting with anticipation.

"They should be out for a while," Hermione said. "I used a few alarm and alert charms on the edges of the wards, as well as around their beds. I'll know if they get up."

"How... convenient," he said. They stared at one another in silence, Hermione standing with her arms crossed to keep from touching him.

"I assume you want to go back to the house."

"That is the plan."

She shivered, the cold night air seeping easily into her warm layers of clothing. She had forgotten her hat, and the warming charm was wearing off. He reached out and tugged her closer by the arm. She stumbled over and bumped into him. He gently turned and steadied her against the tree trunk beside them.

"But first..."

He stepped forward and leaned in to claim her mouth for a few moments. Hermione responded by running her hands up his arms, causing him to grab her wrists and press them lightly against the tree trunk. He held her there and proceeded to kiss her senseless. She writhed with the desire to touch him, to run her hands over his body and up into his hair.

When he finally released her and pulled away, she launched herself at him, throwing her arms around his neck, taking a brief, fierce kiss for herself.

"Are you ready to Apparate?" he asked in her ear, his breath tickling and warm.

"If we must," she sighed, and slipped an arm through his. Snape Apparated them into the tiny upstairs bedroom of the house. Hermione did not let go of his arm, instead choosing to wrap both her arms around him and peer up at his face, which still gave away nothing of his motives or intentions.

"Why have you changed your mind?"

He did not answer at first, but finally one corner of his mouth rose slightly and he said, "It seemed pointless to resist. You tend to be successful in whatever you choose to pursue."

She was not satisfied with that answer.

"So..." She was not sure what to ask first. "Are you keeping this from _him_? Or shall we make it part of _the plan_?"

He considered for a moment as he placed his hands on her waist, thumbs pressing lightly into her lower ribs.

"I think it had best remain a secret. However," he paused and smiled wickedly. "We might continue to stage some memories in which you _attempt_ to convince me to... give up my reservations."

"I see," she said, blushing. His right thumb began tracing circles over her hip bone, which was far more prominent than it had ever been after her months on the run from Voldemort. Abruptly, he stopped and stepped away from her.

"When we are in this house, we act," he said. "All memories connected to this place must be carefully managed."

He did not return with her to the campsite when she Apparated out of the house that night. She had given him a false report that Harry was traveling north, looking for an unknown contact, someone Dumbledore had trusted. The truth was that they would be looking for places connected to Voldemort's past, starting with the orphanage in London.

She had popped back to the campsite and anxiously checked the surrounding area for signs of suspicious activity. When she peeked in the tent, the boys were still asleep. She had not been gone more than forty-five minutes. She had continued her watch through the night, reading until the foggy dawn light had greeted her tired eyes. Sometime in the wee hours of the night after she returned, Severus had sent his patronus with a message.

 _You surprise and intrigue me as no other ever has, extraordinary witch – that is why._

Hermione was simultaneously happy and worried sick about what they were doing. Would it put him in more danger, keeping such memories of her from Voldemort? What if she was captured and her mind broken for information? She found it hard to care about adding a bit more risk to her own life, considering that if her skill at Occlumency failed her in such a moment and the Dark Lord discovered the truth of what she was doing with Harry she would be dead anyway. Her recklessness did not extend to adding more risk to Snape's life, though. She hoped he knew what he was doing.

The trip to London proved fruitless. There was only an office building where the orphanage had been. Harry was discouraged, and Ron even more so. They argued with one another constantly. Hermione found it was all she could do not to smack one of the two of them from one day to the next. Ron had taken to making cruel verbal jabs at Hermione as well, and she had to bite her tongue more than once. It would not help anything if she allowed herself to get pulled into an argument. Ron would likely run off in a snit if she put him in his place. The locket seemed to affect him more than anyone else and he had already been highly impulsive and hot-tempered to begin with.

Unfortunately, Hermione's intuition was spot on – Ron stormed off shortly after they had decided that they would need the sword of Gryffindor to destroy the Horcruxes. She immediately sent a message to Snape, shaking with rage as she performed the charms. Dumbledore's portrait had insisted that she not tell Snape about their decision to search for the sword.

"It will come to you if and when you need it," the portrait wheezed sagely. "Trust _the plan,_ Miss Granger."

Seeing as how the sword was probably hidden somewhere at Hogwarts, Hermione did not see how it could hurt to ask Snape to look for it. She reluctantly agreed not to tell Snape about the plan to acquire it for the destruction of Horcruxes. She did not tell the portrait that she was likely to change her mind if Harry did not soon come out of his depressed, near-catatonic state. It was as if he had become so angry that he simply imploded, leaving little clear thought behind. She had half a mind to show Harry the portrait of Dumbledore and let him take out his anger on the echo of the man who had sent him on such a hopeless mission. In addition to his anger at Ron, Harry had become more and more disillusioned with Dumbledore, whom he had trusted above all others.

Hermione had not made much progress in convincing Harry to practice Occlumency against his connection with Voldemort. He refused to tell her about them, but she knew he was still having the dreams and that he considered them useful to their mission. As much as she longed to see Snape again, she dreaded giving him a report of her failure, and knew he would tell her she must go against _the plan_ if necessary to keep Harry out of Voldemort's reach.

Soon, his reply came. Thankfully, Harry was asleep already.

 _In exactly ten minutes, press your left ring finger to your lips and concentrate on me as your destination. You will be able to Apparate to my side._


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13: A Most Inopportune Time**

Hermione appeared at his side exactly as his watch struck the appointed time.

"Do you know where Ron is?" she asked immediately.

"I believe he is currently having a home-cooked meal with his family," Severus replied. They were standing in the Forbidden Forest, in one of the few spots where no spells would stick, especially not those cast by a Death Eater's wand. It was one of the unicorns' favorite haunts.

"Oh, Ron Weasley! If I could get my hands on him right now..." Hermione trailed off, her anger slowly subsiding as she calmed her mind. "He could have easily been captured."

"Indeed. I was able to track him for much of his journey. There were a few close calls, but he is safe now at the Burrow."

"Well, thank Merlin for that. One day, I'm going to make him personally apologize to you for being so much trouble."

Severus stared at her as the implied, _if we survive this,_ echoed in both of their minds.

"What caused his sudden departure?"

Hermione shook her head.

"Everything, it would seem. He hates camping. He hates the cold. He hates my cooking. He hadn't stopped complaining for weeks, had been picking fights with us, and generally being most unhelpful and obnoxious at all times. He thinks our mission is hopeless and has decided to give up and go home to his mum, I suppose, until it's all over."

Her face twisted with emotion.

"I suppose he thinks he has a pretty good chance at survival no matter what happens, seeing as how he's a neither a _Mudblood_ nor Harry-bloody-Potter!"

Angry tears streaked her face but she quickly wiped them away, composing herself again.

"Harry's almost as bad. He's just about given up. If it weren't for me dragging him around and forcing him to eat, he'd just sit in the tent until he was either found by Death Eaters or starved to death."

She gave him a serious look.

"He's having dreams about the Dark Lord. He seems to think that they are his actual memories, or perhaps events as they happen. He's had a few visions while awake as well. He won't tell me everything he sees, but from what he describes it sounds like the Dark Lord does not realize he is sharing them with Harry. Is that all part of his plan to manipulate Harry?"

"I don't know. The Dark Lord does not share many of his plans with me – I know only what I need to know in the moment. I suspect that he is still aware of Potter's interest in the connection and will manipulate that connection in some way."

Hermione sighed. "I can't get Harry to practice Occlumency. You know how stubborn he is! The more I remind him and beg him to keep the Dark Lord as far away from his mind as possible, the more he insists that it's the only way we will figure out what we need to know."

Severus felt his own anger flare.

"You must convince him!"

"I _know!_ "

"Have you told him that you are an accomplished Occlumens? Have you told him that Dumbledore himself trained you?"

"What good will that do, when he refuses to even _try_ using Occlumency? He is so discouraged and depressed, he thinks the risk is worth it if it gets us closer to finding what we need!"

She had crossed her arms and was scowling.

"Furthermore, he is pretty angry at Dumbledore right now, so I hardly think telling him that he was my teacher would help."

Severus leaned over her.

"You _must._ Find. A. Way. Every time Potter peers into the Dark Lord's mind through the connection, the entire plan is in jeopardy. He must stop _immediately._ This is now your primary objective."

"It already WAS!" she said angrily. "I'm not an idiot, Severus Snape! And I've been dealing with a lot of other shit, besides, trying to keep Ron on board, constantly on the watch for Death Eaters or anyone else who could identify us, convincing the boys to move at the drop of a hat, finding secure locations... making sure they won't notice every time I go off to meet you."

She had stopped seething momentarily.

"Not to mention _the plan_ and the task he gave Harry – which is really the task he gave me, in addition to keeping Harry alive. Not exactly an _easy_ task, as you well know. And then I've got the portrait giving me orders that basically amount to 'sit around and wait some more' while Harry's actually, legitimately going mad."

Severus marveled at the strength of the young witch in front of him, delivering her rant while simultaneously keeping her mind's shields intact, pausing to calm her mind in between each tirade.

"You knew what an impossible mission this plan would be," he said. "You're talking to the only person who has been given a more difficult task, or have you forgotten?"

Fire burned in her eyes.

"Of course I haven't. You. Bloody. Arse!" She punctuated her words with a few steps toward him, grabbing the front of his robe and pulling him down to better look him in the eyes. "I think about you constantly. I worry about you _constantly._ I hate that you have been made into a murderer, as far as anyone else knows, and that you continue to risk your life for hundreds of people who at the moment would like nothing better than to see you dead. I hate that you risk your life to keep me alive to finish this hopeless mission, and that I'm failing miserably at the moment."

Severus knew he should tell her to shut up and stop voicing thoughts that had no business being seared into either of their memories, but instead he silenced her with his own mouth and the second their lips touched any thought of self-control was gone.

She pressed herself to him and clung desperately with hot, strong hands that pressed into his back, shoulders, neck, and chest as they moved. He wrapped his arms around her and forced her to be still for a moment. She moaned in frustration.

"Oh, sod it," he said helplessly, slinking an arm under her elbow. "Prepare to Apparate."

He took them to the house, landing heavily in the tiny bedroom. The lamp flickered briefly at their arrival.

She immediately pulled him toward the bed, tugging him down beside her, feverish eyes telling him how this would end if she had her way. Not that he wanted to deny her, but it was dangerous, so dangerous to allow it – another weakness in his mind, another thing to protect. But it was already too late. She was no longer just a piece of the plan or a responsibility: she mattered. It had been that way for some time, though he had refused to admit it.

He forced the troubling thoughts from his mind and returned to the moment, stretched out beside her, her leg hooking itself over his, her body melting against him. She was inexperienced and he had not touched a woman in many years, but neither reservation hindered them in moving quickly enough to ensure Harry would not miss Hermione back at the campsite that evening.

After demanding he join her on the bed, she let him take the lead, responding with more warm, enthusiastic confidence than he would have expected. Removing only the necessary layers between them, he soon found himself looking down into her eyes, her face flushed and aglow with ardor and anticipation.

"This is... what you want," he said, somewhat breathlessly.

"Obviously," she replied, prodding him with her hips.

The memory of her face in the next moments stayed with him long after she had left that night, her mouth dropping open and a small sigh escaping, eyes sliding closed for a moment before snapping open with renewed intensity.

There was no time to reflect or talk about what they had just done, and she did not seem to expect it. After one last deep kiss, she sighed.

"I have to get back to Harry."

"Indeed."

She stood, dressed quickly, and looked at him.

"Did we just make a mistake?"

He joined her, now fully clothed as well.

"It... is a most inopportune time for such pursuits."

"There was never going to be a time for it."

He inclined his head in agreement.

"I just meant... if this ever somehow became known to _him..._ "

"That will not happen."

"What if it _did_?"

"If the Dark Lord ever does learn that we have consummated our marriage, he will not believe it was anything more than a strategic move on my part. Later, he might be led to believe you acted on your own strategy as well."

"If it comes to that," she said hopefully. Severus did not argue with her, though he knew that there was little hope to be had on that front. Eventually she would be known as Potter's accomplice in the wilderness.

"You must go now," he reminded her. She nodded.

"I know. Goodbye." Her expression went from bereft to stoic in a matter of seconds. Severus seized her waist and devoured her mouth.

"Get back to your post," he ordered when he had finished. She smiled wistfully at him as she Disapparated.

Severus sagged into a seated position on the bed after she was gone. He was a fool to be getting involved with her. After that night she had stolen a kiss from him, he had been in a state of shock and disbelief. If she was no longer pretending to want him, but actually did, would it be so terrible if he gave in to her advances? Eventually, he had come to the conclusion that it would not be so terrible, especially since she was, after all, his wife, and neither of them had high hopes of surviving much longer than it took to get Harry to his final battle with Voldemort.

Still, he had not been sure what to think of that kiss until the night in the forest when she dropped her mental shields and he could feel her emotions pouring out of her mind as a tear streaked down her face. Not only did she want him, she cared for him. It was enough to embolden him to take action, even if he was not sure he was ready to deal with any feelings she had for him beyond that of respect and desire.

Before that moment in the conversation, he had been marveling at her strength, intelligence, and skill, all of which were incredible for someone so young. He had realized as he was giving her instructions for how to deal with Potter that he trusted her implicitly, and knew she would understand the situation and do what needed to be done. Trust was not something Severus was used to having toward other people. Not even Albus could have persuaded him to such a level of trust, though he was still loyal to the man and his plan to rid the world of Voldemort.

Hermione was the only person he had ever trusted without reservation. She had never given him a reason to doubt her motivations. He did, however, doubt that she would be able to continue her mission with Harry to the best of her ability if he allowed her to know how much he was beginning to feel for her. Her feelings for him already controlled her to the point of weakness at times.

Severus had another reason for avoiding a relationship; He knew the end game of Potter's mission, and Hermione did not. Albus had forbid him from telling her himself, and the portrait frequently reminded him that she must not find out until Harry did, when the time was right. Obviously, Albus was certain that she would refuse to be a part of the mission once she realized that she was paving the way for Harry's final sacrifice.

She would hate him once she learned the truth. It would not matter that he had only been following orders, following _the plan_... she would see it as an unforgivable betrayal. He was helping Albus deliver her best friend into the Dark Lord's hands for slaughter, and he was complicit in using her along the way to keep Potter alive until the right moment. It was Albus' plan, but Severus was his loyal servant, always doing what must be done, things that would make someone like Hermione unable to live with themselves.

There would be precious little time for them to meet from now on, and it was for the best. She needed a clear mind, and he refused to compromise _the plan_ , no matter how much he regretted what must be done in the end.

If they both survived the end, and Voldemort was indeed defeated, he had no illusions about their future together. It was unfortunate that now it would be more difficult to reverse the vows, since she would certainly demand it. He had neither the inclination nor the energy to worry about such possibilities at the moment, and he refused to think about how he might deal with losing her not to untimely death in the war, but to disappointment and disgust with him after all was said and done.


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14: Trust the Plan**

The only thing that got Hermione through the next weeks alone with Harry was her memories of Severus. She felt justified in referring to him so familiarly after all that had happened, even if she could only do so within her own mind.

Harry was still being obstinate, but at least he had seemed to come out of his depression a bit. Hermione was able to get him to talk to her more by being less adamant about the need for Occlumency. She figured if nothing she said could convince him, perhaps she could at least get him to trust her and tell her what he was seeing in those visions. At least then she could attempt to interpret which parts might be real, and which parts might be coming form Voldemort as manipulation.

Currently, Harry was focused on Voldemort's search for a wizard, whom Harry called 'the thief', who had stolen something from the wand-maker Gregorovitch. Hermione tried to remind him that they had been given a specific mission, which did not involve wands or wand-makers, and that the last place they should be was in Voldemort's path as he hunted down other people. Though she was curious as well, she felt they should spend their time researching places to look for Horcruxes rather than trying to figure out Voldemort's interest in this thief.

Sometime mid-December, Hermione and Harry discussed the possibility of visiting Godric's Hollow. Hermione tried to determine if Harry's interest in the place was truly his own idea, or if it came from his visions into Voldemort's mind. She was not completely convinced when Harry told her he had not had any visions recently.

Hermione had been certain they would have to go to the scene of Voldemort's first defeat by the-boy-who-lived, but it would be the first place Voldemort would expect him to go, whether or not there were actually any Horcruxes hidden there. Perhaps the sword would come to him there. Dumbledore's portrait was unusually silent on the matter, which made her think her hunch was correct.

When the visit to Godric's Hollow did not go well, Hermione found herself glaring at the portrait while having a hushed, angry argument one evening on her watch outside the tent.

"You let me think this was going to get us the sword! We nearly died and all for nothing! I'm going to ask Severus for it, I don't care if you say he can't bring it to us or that it's not the right time. He will find it, and we will find a way to get it here without Harry being suspicious. I'm tired of waiting around!"

"Severus..." said the portrait thoughtfully, ignoring her anger. "Very well, I will assist him in finding the sword and instruct him to bring it to you without being seen. I believe you are right Miss Granger, it is time."

They were in the Forest of Dean, and the night was bitingly cold.

"You should have sent him to Godric's Hollow with the sword!" she exclaimed. "It would have done Harry good to be right about something. Do you understand how discouraged he is right now?"

"Trust _the plan,_ " the portrait said, its usual refrain.

That night after Hermione had gone to bed and Harry had taken over the watch, Dumbledore made his move. She was furious when she heard how it had happened. Severus should have warned her of his plan to lead Harry to the sword at the bottom of a bloody frozen lake in the dead of winter so that she could at least have been awake and ready to help! She fired off a message conveying her feelings on the matter as soon as she got the chance.

It was a good thing Harry and Ron had told her the entire story of the incident in detail, because she was prepared to see his return message arrive in the form of a new patronus – a tall, lanky, shimmering white wolf. When Hermione had asked Harry why he had thought it was a good idea to follow a strange patronus off into the woods, he had simply said, "Well, I figured a bad wizard wouldn't be able to cast one, would he?"

Hermione had let it go without further comment, though she was certain that magical folk of questionable character might still be able to produce the charm, as long as they had not been practicing too much Dark Magic or given part of their souls up to it.

She was so intrigued by Severus' change of patronus that she barely heard it's message.

 _I would have stepped in if the weasel hadn't shown up to save him. Trust the plan._

Hermione dispersed the patronus in a huff. The next person or object that demanded she trust the plan was going to get an earful in response.

The boys were best of friends again. Harry was both greatly encouraged by their success in destroying the locket and grateful to Ron for showing up just in time to save his life. Both of them were in much better spirits, to the point that Hermione found them unbearable to be around. Ron was especially annoying now that he had returned, nagging them constantly to get moving on a plan to find and destroy the next Horcrux. Not only that, he seemed to have developed sudden hope that Hermione would not only forgive him for running off, but would be interested in renewing their brief romantic relationship from the previous year.

Any time Harry was out of sight or earshot, he tried to make a move on her. Hermione repeated her conviction that it was not the time to be thinking about such things, and that they both needed to concentrate on the mission. He did his best to convince her otherwise, apologizing over and over for accusing her of liking Harry. Apparently, Harry had recently assured him that he had no romantic feelings for Hermione whatsoever, and that she had been devastated by Ron's departure.

"Hermione, please talk to me," he begged one evening. "I know you were more than just angry at me. Harry told me."

She had frowned.

"Harry told you... what?"

Ron looked sheepish. "That you cried every night when I left."

"What?!"

"It's okay Hermione. I... I feel the same way about you."

Hermione dropped her head into her hands. She could not tell Ron the truth, but she should at least try to let him down easy. She really did not want to be dealing with it at the moment, with many more pressing concerns demanding her attention, but Ron was not going to let it go.

"Ron... I told you I don't want to start anything, especially now. I don't know why Harry told you that – if he did see me, er, crying once or twice, it was because I'm so overwhelmed and scared, and confused about what we are even supposed to be doing. While you were back at the Burrow eating your mum's cooking and sleeping in a nice warm bed, we were still out here trying to figure things out and not be killed, all while getting nowhere with the mission. It was really... stressful."

"I know, but I'm here now, and I know we can do this – together. Me and you have always been together, haven't we? You can't tell me you don't feel this too."

He attempted to hold her hand, but Hermione crossed her arms.

"It's not that simple, Ron. Please respect my answer, and just be the friend I need right now. I can't think about anything else but helping Harry do this without getting us all killed."

Ron was silent for a few minutes. Finally, he sighed.

"Okay. Look, are we going to try to talk to Harry again about going to see Luna's dad? We need to get out of this forest and do _something._ "

"Yes," she replied.

Hermione sent word to Severus through the portrait that they would soon be moving again. She longed to see him in person, but he was unable to find opportunities to leave the castle. The Death Eaters at the school with him required constant supervision, so that he might intervene before they were able to really hurt anyone. They seemed to never sleep, always prowling the castle and grounds, watching Severus' every move.

She did not see him again until after they narrowly escaped the Lovegood house, after Luna's father had alerted the Death Eaters to their presence, hoping to turn Harry over to Voldemort in exchange for Luna. She had been captured by Death Eaters on the way home for Christmas break.

As soon as Hermione saw Severus waiting for her, she jumped to her feet. The boys were sleeping soundly, thank Merlin. She hurried over to him, speaking before he could say a word.

"I'm ready to toss that damn portrait into the fire, just so you know!" she exclaimed. "If it had given you my _full_ message, you would have been able to tell me that Luna had been captured and I wouldn't have gone to visit her father."

"I, too, have expressed my displeasure to dear Albus' portrait," he replied calmly. "Though, even he could not have known that Lovegood would so easily deliver 'The Chosen One' to the Dark Lord."

"Yes, but obviously Death Eaters had targeted them. I wouldn't have dared go if I had known! We could easily all be dead right now."

"It seems the portrait thought Lovegood had information you could use."

"Well, he didn't. What he told us hasn't gotten us any closer to completing our mission, and now Harry wants to go off on another tangent because of something that batty old traitor said!"

Severus stared at her in silence, and Hermione tried to calm her mind.

"I've missed you. It's probably good that we couldn't meet before. I was not happy with how you decided to give Harry the sword – why the bottom of a freezing lake?"

"It had to be somewhere not just anyone would find it, Hermione. I had to leave it there while I lured Potter away from you."

"You could have done it while I was awake. I would have stopped him from jumping in the water like a moron, or at least put a few charms on him before he did. I certainly wouldn't have let him wear the locket while retrieving the sword. Did you know Ron was there? It's lucky he didn't see you."

"By the time I was aware of Weasley's approach, it was too late to abandon the plan. If he had not come through, I was prepared to stun him and save Potter myself without being recognized."

"Polyjuice Potion?"

He ran his hands up her arms.

"Indeed."

She smiled.

"I like your new patronus. Harry is an idiot though, for following it like that. How did you know he would?"

Severus smirked.

"Because Potter has always been an idiot, Hermione. He is impulsive and life has proven to him that he is invincible. He does not understand how to exercise caution."

Hermione sighed.

"True. I'm still not sure I want to take any more orders from the portrait. I shouldn't have trusted it again after it nearly got us killed in Godric's Hollow, and the sword wasn't even there. It let me think that's where it was hidden, when all along you had it tucked away at the school, just waiting for orders to deliver it to Harry."

"I did not know where the sword was hidden until the portrait told me," Severus answered. "As you know, the sword of Gryffindor won't just present itself to a Slytherin even if he wants it for a good cause. And the intention _was_ to leave the sword in Godric's Hollow for Potter to find. However, the Dark Lord must have realized that Potter was thinking of going there through their mind link. Nagini had not been planted there long, for I saw the snake the last time I was called to his side."

Hermione sighed again.

"It took nearly dying to convince him to use Occlumency again. I don't know if it will matter now though, now that we've got the sword and have destroyed..."

She stopped, remembering that she was not to speak of the Horcruxes in Severus' presence, even though they both knew what Harry's mission was and why he needed the sword. His eyes warned her to keep silent. She leaned into him and slid her arms under his to complete their embrace, eyes closed.

"Did Luna's father tell the Death Eaters that I was with Harry?"

Severus tightened his hold on her.

"No. He only reported seeing Harry."

Hermione opened her eyes and stared at the rough, dark fabric that covered his upper arm.

"Good."

They stayed that way for a while, enjoying one another's warmth in the cold winter air.

"Does the Dark Lord never wonder why you have so few memories of me? We haven't created any for him in a while."

Severus looked down at her.

"He knows I am busy at the school, and believes that you are recovering from weeks of following Potter. Your last intelligence was that Ron Weasley had deserted him, and that you were going to speak with him about Harry's whereabouts. Unfortunately, you were unable to get much from Weasley before he disappeared again."

"Am I recovering at the house, or in the castle with you? After all, you are my husband. You could hide me away in the headmaster's rooms."

"No," he said firmly, squashing her hopes of playing out a few fantasies she had developed recently. "You can not be seen with me, and in addition to there being unmovable portraits on damn near every wall in my quarters, the house-elves would know you were there and a few of them are not likely to keep that information to themselves."

"Fine. Do I need to go to the house tonight? I've set the usual charms on the tent and the beds."

He nodded.

"Briefly."

They went back and Hermione pretended to be weak to the point of magical depletion, exhausted and delirious with worry for Harry and Ron. Severus fed her and forced her to bathe, watching her undress and slip into the clawfoot tub that he had prepared while she was eating. Hermione was unpleasantly surprised when she glimpsed her rail-thin body in the mirror and noticed the deep, dark circles under her eyes. At least it would be believable that she was ill – she looked terrible.

Feeling she should get the most out of the moment as possible, since she did not know when she might see him again, she reached out and grabbed his hand as he placed a towel on the floor next to the tub.

"Stay."

His eyes glittered.

"You might regret that invitation, Granger."

"I don't think so," she said, with a shy smile.

"You are too weak," he stated, even as he kicked off his shoes. "You need rest."

"There are other ways to heal," she said. "Or so you've told me."

He had removed his shirt and was unbuckling his belt. Hermione felt the warm glow of happy anticipation wash over her. The last time they had been together, it had been dark, and he had not even undressed. Her eyes took in his lean form with satisfaction. It was the first time she had seen a man completely nude in real life, she realized. Nobody ever got naked when messing around at Hogwarts – it was too risky.

"Move over," he hissed, stepping into the tub. She scooted back to make room for him, attempting to look appropriately surprised and nervous. He was soon leaning over her, demanding a kiss while pinning her arms down under the water. She complied, her body suddenly burning with the pent up desire that had been pushed to the back of her mind for weeks.

It was most unfortunate that minutes later, something tripped one of Hermione's alert charms and warned her that she needed to be back at her post immediately.

"Damn it!" she said breathlessly. "They've set off one of the charms."

She jumped out of the tub, as Severus sent a terrifically effective drying charm at her. Her clothes were on in seconds, and she ran across the hall to the tiny bedroom while pulling her jacket on. The last thing she saw before Disapparating was a naked, dripping wet Severus standing in the doorway with a worried look on his face.

Thankfully, the alarm had only been set off by one of Ron's legs hanging sideways off his bed. He was still asleep. She sent a message to Severus to let him know it was a false alarm and that all was well. Hermione was relieved, but could not help feeling cheated and was short and cross with Ron the entire next day.


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15: Helpless in Love**

Severus had managed to find a handful of times to meet Hermione again after the disappointing night of the bath. She reported that Potter was losing focus once again, or rather was only focused on the supposed Deathly Hallows that the Dark Lord believed to be real and attainable. Potter, too, believed the tale and seemed to think that Dumbledore had meant for him to get them before Voldemort.

They had stopped using the portrait unless absolutely necessary. If the Hallows were part of _the plan,_ it was a part known only to Albus. The portrait had nothing to say on the matter.

Hermione was doing the best she could to keep Potter searching for the Horcruxes. She was having some success in motivating Weasley to take charge, which was probably for the best. At least the little weasel was likely to listen to her, smitten as he was with her.

Severus had witnessed the scene of the destruction of the locket. He knew that Weasley still held out hope for a relationship with Hermione and that he had been irrationally jealous of Potter before he left them the first time. Hermione had been careful not to mention those developments. He found that even thought he knew she had some history with the boy, he did not believe she would give in to his advances. If she did, he would know – the vows would make him physically ill the moment it happened.

The weeks wore on. Severus was kept busy doing all he could to protect the students at the school without raising too much suspicion about his loyalty. Winter slowly released its hold and there were soon more and more days that approached warmer temperatures. Hermione was having little success on her mission with the boys. Severus brought her provisions as often as he could and on the occasions he could get her back to the house he made her eat rich, full meals.

One such night after she had eaten quickly, glaring at him all the while because she would have rather skipped half the meal and moved on to other pursuits during their short time together, she stood and pulled her shirt off over her head.

He was standing in the doorway of the kitchen watching her. She pulled off her pants as well.

"Why are you just standing there?" she asked impatiently. "We haven't got much time."

He strode over to her, an amused smile curling his lips upward. The Dark Lord still did not know that he had given in to his Muggle-born wife's advances. On the occasions they were together in the house, about half the time they played their roles just in case he ever caught a glimpse of it in Severus' mind.

Hermione started to lead the way up the stairs, but Severus caught her and pulled her back.

"Ah, ah... time is of the essence, Granger."

He lifted her up onto the table where she had just been eating her meal and kissed her roughly as he unhooked the tiny clasp behind her back and tossed the garment aside. He pulled her hips to the edge of the table in one swift motion, and heard her gasp in surprise as his thumb slid to its intended destination. But she was ready and her eyes assured him that she was quite enjoying herself.

Not too many minutes later, he leaned over her back and whispered into her ear, "I hope we will have more to discuss next time. I'll see you in four days."

Four days, and it would be Easter Break. No students were staying at the school, and he would have a short reprieve from his careful watch over the Carrows.

Hermione could not get away from the boys on the day they had planned to meet, but she gave him their location and a warning that Snatchers were likely near the area. They would be moving soon.

When he arrived and began scouting out the area, he immediately felt a staggering wave of anxiety wash over him. She was in trouble. He began running in the direction Hermione had told him to go, but he was too late. The tent was there, marked by her signature wards and alarms as well as a glowing pale blue handprint visible only to his eyes. Hermione and the boys were nowhere in sight, and the tight feeling in his chest had only intensified. He took a few labored breaths, trying to think clearly.

He waited for the feeling to pass, hoping that they were currently running from Snatchers and would soon be in a safe location. It did not pass, and soon the feeling of anxious premonition had spread until his whole body was pulsing with it. They had been caught, which meant that they would be taken to the Dark Lord. This was not part of the plan, but Severus could do nothing but wait until he felt the mark call him to his master's side, along with the rest of his Dark servants, to witness the end of the-boy-who-lived.

The call did not come, and it certainly should have by now, Severus thought, sitting against a tree, staring at the spot where he knew the tent to be hidden.

He waited for his left ring finger to begin to burn, but he knew she would not call him, either. She would not give up his position by bringing him to her aide in the presence of the Dark Lord until death was imminent. Whatever was happening, she still hoped to salvage _the plan._

Minutes stretched on, until it must have been an hour that he sat there waiting in helpless agony, both mentally and physically. At one point, he felt that his nerves had been set on fire. Eventually they settled back down to a constant, bothersome tingle.

Finally, he stood and Apparated back to the house. It was not until early the next morning, just before dawn, that she called him. He woke immediately, sitting upright and grabbing his burning hand. He threw on the robe that was still on the floor next to the bed and Disapparated.

He arrived under a small group of trees on the edge of a clearing near a cliff that overhung the sea. She was leaning against one of the trees, hugging her arms to her chest, wrapped in a knitted shawl. She looked thinner than ever, hair pulled back severely into a tight braid, revealing a thin scabbed-over line on her neck. She shivered and opened her arms to receive his embrace as he reached out and pulled her to him.

"What happened?"

She sighed, and it sounded almost like a sob against the fabric of his robe.

"We were caught by Snatchers when Harry accidentally said _his_ name. I tried to jinx Harry's face so that he wouldn't be recognized, but they must have been told he would be with a red-haired wizard because they still suspected it was him. They took us to Malfoy Manor."

Severus felt her shudder.

"Bellatrix Lestrange was there. They only thing that stopped her from calling the Dark Lord right away was that she saw the sword, which was supposed to have been in her vault at Gringott's. She... she sent the boys to the cellar and... interrogated me and a goblin named Griphook. Harry managed to convince Griphook to tell her the sword was fake so that we could all escape with it – the goblin wants it back, of course, as it's goblin-made. I don't trust him, but he's agreed to help Harry for the moment."

Severus pushed her shoulders back far enough that he could look at her face.

"Did she use the Cruciatus Curse on you?"

Hermione's lowered her eyes.

"Yes."

"For how long?"

She looked at him, and the pain of the memory in her eyes made his breath stop.

"I'm not sure. I passed out, and she moved on the Griphook. Ron Apparated me out of the Manor after he, Harry, and Dobby broke out of the cellar and ambushed the Death Eaters. Well, really just Bellatrix because I think the Malfoys were hoping we would finish her off for them. They didn't put up much of a fight."

"Wait here for one moment."

He Disapparated and quickly gathered some of his emergency potions before returning.

"Take this twice a day, just two drops at a time," he said, handing her the smallest vial. "And this will heal any nerve damage – a small sip every four to six hours should be sufficient. This will help you sleep – you will need it for the first few nights."

She stashed them in her pocket.

"Thank you. I didn't sleep at all last night. I could barely move. I would have called you sooner if I could have gotten out of the house by myself."

"You should have called me the moment the Snatchers appeared."

She shook her head.

"There was not enough time, and it would have been suspicious for you to just show up. If you could find me that easily, why would he believe you had not found me with Harry before the Snatchers did?"

He looked into her eyes.

"It could have been explained."

She gave him a doubtful look and reached up to touch his face.

"It's over now. We survived, and Harry escaped. _The plan_ will go on. That's all that matters."

"No," he said, kissing her deeply. "It's not."

When he looked at her again, there were tears running down her cheeks.

"What if I can't do this? What if I can't... get Harry where he needs to be when the time comes? We nearly met Vol- the Dark Lord. He was seconds away. We weren't anywhere close to ready. What if the next time he comes for us, we still aren't ready? What if we never are?"

He looked steadily at her.

"You must believe you will be. There is no other way."

Severus felt his mark begin to burn, a searing pain – his master was not happy. He grabbed his arm.

"I'm being summoned."

Her eyes widened.

"Be careful."

"Always," he replied, before Disapparating.

He appeared before the Dark Lord, alone, which was not a good sign.

"Severus," hissed his Dark master. "I do not often have reason to say this, but I am... disappointed... in you. Do you happen to know why that might be?"

Severus had fallen to his knees upon arrival, and he dared not move or look up.

"No, my Lord. What have I done that displeases you?"

Voldemort laughed softly.

"It's not what you've done, Severus, it's what you haven't done. Did you know, you seem to have lost the trust of your little Mudblood wife. She was caught with Potter and his red-haired friend yesterday. It seems she has not been as honest as you believed her to be and was traveling with Potter in secret for some time. If Bellatrix had not selfishly detained them for her own interrogation before calling me, I would have them in my hands at this very moment."

Severus was silent for a long moment, to be sure the Dark Lord was done before he spoke.

"My Lord, she could not have been with them for long, or she would have sent word to me. How did they come to be captured by Bellatrix?

" _She_ didn't catch them," said Voldemort. "I told her to stay put with the Malfoy's after the last time she proved too impulsive to carry out even the simplest of plans without detection. No, they were picked up by a group of imbecilic Snatchers who were afraid to come to me themselves. Apparently, they were too thick to determine the identities of Potter and his friends without assistance. They brought the children here so that Draco might confirm their suspicions."

Severus dared to look up after Voldemort pressed a hand to his shoulder.

"What was the last thing the girl told you? Let me see, Severus."

Severus had been preparing for this moment since the night before. He looked into the Dark Lord's eyes and opened the part of his mind that had been carefully prepared for inspection.

 _Hermione was sitting before him as he stood expectantly by the table._

" _Have you found Potter?"_

" _Yes. I finally convinced them to meet me the other day. They've gone again, though they won't tell me where."_

" _Is Potter planning anything yet? Has he been in contact with what's left of the Order?"_

 _She shook her head._

" _No, and not that I know of. They are still just running, hiding, trying to keep under the radar. I don't believe they have any sort of plan. They asked me for some food, which I went to purchase for them, and when I got back they were gone."_

" _The next time you must convince them to let you go with them," Severus said harshly. "You continue to fail this, Granger, and they will soon be dead. Potter can't run forever. He needs to be trained, if he is going to meet his destiny. You must bring him to me."_

" _I'm TRYING!" she said in exasperation. "He is scared and STUBBORN... and Ron's the same. They think they're protecting me by refusing to let me come with them."_

" _I believe the time has come to tell him that he must trust me. Perhaps he will come here willingly."_

 _She shook her head._

" _No. He won't believe me, and he would refuse to contact me again."_

 _Severus slammed his hand down on the table next to her, making her jump._

" _Then FIND HIM, and this time don't let him get away!"_

 _She nodded meekly._

" _Yes, sir."_

"What else, Severus? What else is hiding in that head of yours? Let's see..."

Severus did not have much else to show him, so he did what he must and let him see a few flashes of the other memories they had created.

 _Severus pulled Hermione toward him and delivered a crushing kiss as he pressed her against the wall of the kitchen._

" _Is that all you wanted, Granger?" he asked, smirking down at her._

 _She let out a short breath. "I... I want you," she stammered hesitantly. "It's been months now that I've wondered what... what it would be like to... be your wife in more than name. Please, I don't want to die never having had – "_

 _He laughed and she feel silent."What a brave little Gryffindor, asking her Slytherin professor to take her against a wall."_

Deep, vile laughter filled his ears as memory-Severus gave his wife what she desired.

"Oh, Severus... I knew you would not hold out forever. A willing Mudblood can be useful to have around I suppose, if you must take what you can get. But then if I recall, you once had a predilection for bookish, filthy-blooded witches... at least Potter's mother was something worth looking at."

The anger Severus would have felt was buried deep beneath his shields, simmering there, to be drawn out later. For now, he allowed only a bit of shame to become present in his mind.

"Did she enjoy it? Perhaps our supposed Mudblood prodigy has a Dark side after all. Or have you scared her off, and sent her running to Potter with no intention of coming back?"

"I believe she would have contacted me soon, had they not been captured."

"Ah, yes, but now..." said Voldemort, pacing around him. "Now she knows you won't be coming to her rescue. For you must have felt it when Bellatrix tortured her into unconsciousness, and smart thing that she is, she knows you ignored her pain."

He stopped in front of Severus again.

"She knows that you would have let them be delivered into my hands," he hissed. "So, now... you must go collect your wayward wife. And take care that you wait until you are sure she is still with Potter!"

"Yes, my Lord. This was my plan."

"It is lucky for you that you have the holiday break to conduct your search. I can't trust the Carrows to keep the school running without your oversight. They fail to understand that we _want_ the young blood-traitors all in one place, which means they must stay at the school instead of going off into hiding like the others."

"Yes, my Lord."

"Oh, and Severus?" said Voldemort as he turned to leave. Severus stood still, every fibre of his being aching to be gone from his Dark master's presence. In the next moments, he fell to his knees again as a burst of pure agonizing pain shot through his body, a startled and helpless whine escaping his lips. It seemed unending, when in reality it probably lasted less than a minute.

"That is for sullying yourself with a Mudblood. If you weren't so useful, I'd make you regret it more... fully. I'd expect nothing less from the rest of them, but I thought you were different."

Severus could only moan a vague apology in response, his mouth tasting of blood. The Dark Lord turned.

"Leave me."

He had suffered and would suffer more terrible things than that brief torture at Voldemort's hand before the war was over. The worst moments of all that would transpire had been those in which his body urgently reminded him that Hermione was in danger and pain, and that he was helpless to do anything to stop it. Severus went home and sat in silence for hours, taking nothing for the after-effects of the Cruciatus Curse, though he had enough of the potions left to relieve the symptoms entirely. He welcomed the unpleasant dull pain, the tremors, and the pounding in his head. It was a distraction from the knowledge that he wanted nothing more than to go steal the sword of Gryffindor and hunt down every last Horcrux himself if it meant Hermione would be safe. But that was not part of _the plan._


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16: How to Steal a Dragon**

Hermione's damaged body healed quickly after Severus brought her the potions. She hoped he had not given her all that he had in his emergency stores. What the potions could not heal was the constant ache in her chest that had been present since Severus had sent her his last message. Voldemort had ordered him to find her and bring back Harry. While they were still in the safe house, Severus could not find them, and he told her not to give him the location. They could not risk meeting anymore.

She worried about his safety when he inevitably failed to find her and disappointed his master. She had sensed the danger he was in the second he left her that morning on the edge of the clearing near Shell Cottage, and a short time later she had been seized with sudden phantom pain, which meant that he was experiencing far worse. She had cried herself to sleep that night after taking the sleep aid he'd given her.

She spent the next weeks planning how they would get the cup from Bellatrix's vault at Gringott's. Time not spent planning was spent working up the courage to go through with such a dangerous plan after having just nearly escaped capture by Voldemort himself. Ron and Harry spent the evenings whispering together, writing out extensive possible scenarios and how they would react to each, which they presented to Hermione at intervals so that she might add anything she thought they had missed.

Hermione spent many hours walking through the garden and reading on a little wooden bench hidden behind a few overgrown rose bushes. Fleur was gracious about giving her space, though Hermione knew she thought it was unusual for her to spend so much time alone. It was not just Severus who occupied her thoughts in her solitary rambles; she was beginning to suspect some things about Harry and _the plan_ that she did not want to consider.

One morning before the boys were awake, Hermione went downstairs to find Fleur in the kitchen. They were the only two who had stirred out of bed before the sun. The house was chilly and quiet.

Fleur placed a cup in front of her and brought the kettle over to join her. For a few minutes, they sipped together in silence.

"Bill says zat 'e wishes 'Arry could tell him something of zee task 'e was given. 'E knows Dumbledore forbid it, but... eet's 'ard on him, not being able to 'elp you."

"I know," said Hermione simply.

"You theenk you vill return 'ere often? Or vill your task take you elsewhere?"

"I couldn't say," Hermione replied. "As long as this is a safe house, it is a possibility, but... the longer we are here, the longer we put you and Bill in danger. They have ways of figuring out the general area where we are, even if they can't pinpoint the house. Harry already hates that we've been here this long."

Fleur finished her tea in silence.

"You and Ron 'ave 'ad a fight, I theenk. He is sad now whenever 'e looks at you."

Hermione toyed with her fingers around her cup without speaking.

"And you 'ave been quite depressed, my dear. Eet's obvious zat you can't bear to look at him at all."

Hermione sighed.

"No, we haven't fought. Not yet, anyway, but we will if he doesn't soon learn to take a hint."

Fleur's eyes probed her face carefully.

"You do not love him, not in ze way of a lover. Zis is what 'e 'opes for?"

"I used to think I might... come to feel that way, but we've sort of tried that already."

Fleur nodded sympathetically. "And you already know. Your 'eart has not chosen him."

Hermione looked away.

"Yes."

"But 'e loves you, still."

"Yes. Or, he thinks he does. I don't think Ron really knows me as well as he seems to think."

"Hmmm. Zis is very difficult for you, for you have such a kind 'eart. 'Eet vill hurt you as much as him when you tell him."

Hermione looked at her, surprised by her insight accompanied with more compassion than she usually conveyed with her blunt manner of speaking.

"Well, I theenk 'eet is time you told him. 'Eet is selfish of you to wait just because 'eet vill be an unhappy talk."

 _There's the Fleur I'm used to,_ thought Hermione. She stood.

"That's not the only reason I'm avoiding the topic," she said stiffly. "But thanks for the advice."

Hermione had never imagined she would have such a conversation with Fleur, but she had to admit that she was right. It was unfair to keep avoiding the inevitable – Ron would have to be told in no uncertain terms that she was not interested and would never be, otherwise he would continue to hope. The only question now was, should she wait until after they made their attempt to get the cup? Hermione knew that she could put a row behind them and work together on the mission, but she was not as optimistic about Ron's ability to do the same.

In the end, she decided to keep avoiding him until a better time. He was so motivated and focused at the moment, it would be foolish to distract him with crushed romantic hopes.

Hermione often looked at Ron and tried to imagine how he would react if she could tell him the whole truth. _I'm married to Severus Snape, and even though it was Dumbledore's idea and meant to be fake and only for my protection, I've fallen in love with him. So I'm no longer interested in dating you, Ron._

He would stammer and sputter, call her a nutter, insist that she had been Imperiused, and demand to know why she had agreed to such a crazy thing in the first place. He would tell her she had been brainwashed and used, and that she was insane to trust Severus no matter what Dumbledore had told her. Then he would tell Harry, and it would all be over.

She communicated with Severus sporadically. A few times, she sent him a message via patronus only to get a reply that he had not been alone and had been forced to dispel the charm without hearing its message. Hermione did not know whether it was her imagination, but his wolf patronus seemed listless and somehow dimmer whenever it came to her.

On the first of May, they carried out their plan and managed to break into Gringott's with luck, Polyjuice Potion, some quick thinking, and the liberal use of the Imperius Curse. As they escaped on the back of a half-blind dragon, Hermione could not help grinning from ear to ear. Against all odds, they had secured another Horcrux and were, surprisingly, not dead. It was unfortunate that they had lost the sword to Griphook, but she had suspected that the goblin would not be an ally for long.

She stole a moment after their landing by the lake to send a message to Severus letting him know that the Dark Lord would soon hear about their latest exploit, if he had not already, but that they were safe for the moment. It was lucky that she had trudged off into the brushy woods nearby, claiming to need to relieve herself, when his patronus arrived. It must have crossed her bear in the air somewhere far above their heads. She quickly gave it password number seventeen.

 _The Dark Lord knows you have completed part of the task. He will return to Hogwarts soon to protect the rest and wait for his last rival. This is the end. Keep what I've given you close. A drop or two may save more than one life._

Hermione fought the urge to cry at his words, and ran back to the boys. Harry was in the midst of a vision, Ron pacing anxiously around him as he held his head and moaned, eyes half-closed, pupils flitting back and forth beneath them. Finally, he snapped out of it, and jumped up.

"I know where the last Horcrux is! It's in the castle – but he knows we're after them and that we've destroyed the locket. We have to go NOW!"

They went to Hogsmeade, finding shelter with Aberforth Dumbledore, who tried to convince them to run by relating more of his brother's history than any of them had yet discovered. Hermione listened impatiently, though she was interested. None of it mattered – they had _the plan_ and they would not be deterred. Finally, he showed them how they would be getting into the castle, and Hermione saw the face of Neville Longbottom, who looked like he had aged five years and grown twice as tall in her absence.

With the rest of the DA summoned to join them, they entered the castle. Hermione wondered if Severus was currently feeling the pangs of her dangerous position in his own body. He must know they were here – he had mentioned there was a safe passage for students into the village that he had been protecting from the Carrows. He certainly would have it monitored.

Though neither Severus nor anyone else greeted them immediately once they arrived inside the castle, Hermione knew he would not be able to pretend he was unaware of Harry's presence for long. When Harry left with Luna to look for the diadem, she grabbed Ron.

"I know how we're going to destroy the last Horcruxes, Ron."

She started to run, pulling him with her.

"Where are we _going,_ Hermione?!"

"The Chamber of Secrets! Come _on_!"

After retrieving the Basilisk fangs, they found Harry, who triumphantly informed them that he, McGonagall, and the others had just run Severus out of the castle. Hermione's heart sunk into her toes. _That_ had been the reason she had nearly had a panic attack when exiting the chamber, gripped by a sudden shortness of breath and crippling anxiety. He would have to go to the Dark Lord's side, having failed to capture Harry upon first sight in the castle.

She almost didn't hear what Ron said about the house-elves, but as it registered in her mind she felt the floodgates open. The last straw on her emotional burden, it forced the tears to come and she sobbed into Ron's shoulder as he held her in shock.

"I c-can't believe you thought of the house-elves!" she exclaimed. "You really d-do care. I'm sorry I've been so distant lately. It's not your fault..."

"Oi! You two!" shouted Harry, who was waiting for them to join him in search of the diadem. "There's a war going on! Could you have this conversation later?"

That was all Hermione needed to hear to pull herself together. She pushed her worry and anxiousness for Severus to the back of her mind. They still had a mission.

They managed to locate and destroy the diadem, no thanks to Draco's cronies who nearly got all of them killed with Fiendfyre during the ensuing duel in the Room of Requirement.

The first death that gripped Hermione's heart that night and held it in a painful closed grasp was that of Fred Weasley, just before they fought their way out of the castle to find Nagini, the Horcrux that was always at Voldemort's side.

Hermione reflexively touched the small vial that hung hidden under her shirt, dangling from a chain around her neck – now undeniably identified as Nagini's antivenin. But the snake could do considerable damage to a person without poisoning them, Hermione reasoned. The potion was a small comfort at such a time.

They snuck up to the Shrieking Shack, where Severus was with the Dark Lord. Hermione used every ounce of self-control she possessed to listen silently to their conversation, her mind screaming at her to find a way to help him, her body threatening to make her insides rebel with the painful energy pulsing through her veins, warning her that her lover was in mortal danger that increased every moment.

She struggled to concentrate on his words. He might realize even now that she was near, and he might have a message for them. He kept attempting to get the Dark Lord to let him go back to look for Harry. He needed to get to Harry. He needed to tell him something. _Damn that portrait and its illustrious subject to hell!_ she thought. _He was waiting until the end. He's got information for Harry that had to wait until the very end._

Her mind was racing, her head aching with the knowledge that she had been right about the thing that was too terrible to consider. And then it happened – Nagini lunged.

Hermione clapped her hands over her mouth and bit her thumb to keep from screaming, eyes locked on the writhing forms of snake and wizard on the floor. She did not know what kept her from passing out, other than sheer determination that she would not allow him to die before her eyes.

Harry was running toward Severus before Hermione could will her legs to move. She quickly followed, already pulling the vial of antivenin from her neck and folding it into her hand. She knelt over his head, opposite Harry and furtively poured a few drops onto his neck. It would need to go down his throat as well, she was sure, but at the moment he was ordering Harry to take the memories that seemed to be seeping from his tear ducts.

She was crying too as she shoved an empty vial into Harry's hand and watched him shakily collect the memories. Her vision dimmed as she concentrated on Severus, willing him to share her strength with every fibre of her being. She felt the drain on her power, as if she were performing four or five of the most difficult charms she knew at the same time. He was very weak, near death.

"Hermione! Is he...?"

"No! Harry, take those memories he gave you and get out of here! Whatever he needed to tell you must be important!"

"Are you... staying?"

She closed her eyes, giving all that she could without collapsing on top of his chest.

"I'll do what I can. I – I don't know if it will matter. Now, go! I'll be there as soon as I can."

"Hermione..."

"You, too, Ron! Make sure Harry gets back into the castle alive!"

Hermione was barely aware of Voldemort's voice delivering his ultimatum to Harry after the boys were gone. She was too busy placing a few drops of the antivenin on Severus' tongue, dabbing more into his wound, and then attempting to stop the bleeding and temporarily close the gaping gash across his neck. A trained Healer would have to repair the damage if he was to have full use and feeling in his neck and shoulder again, but she was confident that he was out of danger – if he had not lost too much blood, and if the antivenin had been administered in time.

He was breathing shallowly when she finished, his chest barely rising a few millimeters. She leaned down and kissed his forehead. He moaned and his eyes fluttered open.

"Severus?" she whispered hopefully.

"How..." he rasped. "How much? The... potion..."

She held up the half-empty vial. His eyes slid closed.

"Any... more, and... I'd be... dead. It's... _concentrated!_ "

"Well, you could've given me better instructions!"

He grimaced and held her gaze seriously, as if he thought it might be the last time he saw her.

"You need... to go... to Potter."

"I'm not leaving you here. You need medical attention and a few doses of Blood Replenishing Potion at the very least!"

"My... pocket."

Hermione searched his robe until she found the deep hidden inner pocket that had been charmed in a similar manner to her beaded bag. There were more than a few vials of potion inside, all of which she gathered up and dumped on the floor, quickly pinpointing the one she needed. She unstoppered it and held it to his lips.

"All of it?"

He tilted his chin down slightly in the affirmative, and she tipped the contents into his mouth. He would need at least fifteen minutes to begin feeling the effects.

"How am I going to get you out of here?" she wondered out loud. He took a loud, gasping breath after swallowing the potion and coughed, grimacing once more.

"I need a house-elf!" Hermione exclaimed. "They can Apparate us off the grounds, and then I can bring the house-elf to your house to watch over you."

"Unnecessary... dangerous."

"No, it's not. _He_ thinks you're dead, as you should be at the moment. Now, the problem is that I don't know any house-elves anymore who would be willing to help us. Dobby is... dead."

"Adita!"

Hermione frowned. "Is that a Hogwarts elf?"

"No..." Severus whispered, as a loud crack announced the arrival of the elf in question.

"Mr. Severus, sir! What has happened?! What can Adita do? Poor Mr. Severus is hurt bad!" The house-elf stood wringing her hands, looking back and forth between Severus' neck and Hermione.

"The Dark Lord tried to kill him with his snake," hissed Hermione. "Are you a Hogwarts elf?"

"No, Miss! Adita is coming from a bad family... she has to punish herself every morning and night for her disobedience, but Adita longs for the day when she might be free just like Dobby-the-Great-Who-Came-Before! Adita takes care of Mr. Severus. He is the good wizard among the evil ones!"

Hermione smiled as she processed what the house-elf had just said.

"Okay. Okay, Adita. Will you help Severus now, and _promise_ that you will not leave his side or tell anyone where you've been? ESPECIALLY your family and their other house-elves?"

"Oh, yes, Miss. Adita wants to help Mr. Severus more than anything. She will do every punishment she knows."

"No punishments... at least, not until after you've done everything I need. Okay?"

The house-elf nodded.

"Okay."

"I'm going to ask you to take us somewhere off the grounds. It can be anywhere, but it has to be safe... nobody else can see us."

"Adita can do that!" she exclaimed excitedly.

"Just one moment, and I'll be ready to go," said Hermione, pulling Severus' torso into her lap after performing a few charms that would make it easier for her to bear his weight.

Adita Disapparated with them, and took them to a quiet, dark, empty meadow.

"Here is good, Miss?"

"It's good," Hermione reassured her. "Now, it's my turn. I'm taking you and Severus to his house. Hang on."

They arrived in the tiny bedroom, and Hermione immediately levitated Severus onto the bed and went to find his emergency potion stores in search of something to relieve his pain and help him rest. After administering the potions, she turned to Adita.

"He's in stable condition," she told the house-elf. "Do not leave his side. Give him this potion – all of it – in exactly one hour." Hermione handed the vial to her.

"If he is in any distress or danger, come tell me right away!"

"Okay, Miss," said Adita, eyes wide.

Before she left, Hermione placed some immobilization spells on his neck and shoulders. She thought her wand-work on his wound was sound, but there was no need to go testing it by letting him move around and try to pull it apart again.

"I have to go," she said at last, sitting next to him on the bed. He struggled to keep his eyes open, blinking heavily as he looked up.

"If I... don't make it..."

"Shut up," she said. "I'm coming back, I'm bringing a Healer with me, and you _are_ going to make it."

She kissed him lightly on the lips, and he sighed. His eyes fluttered closed.

"Sleep, my love," she said, though he had probably already drifted off thanks to the effects of the potions he had just taken.

Hermione had not been been gone more than ten minutes after all was done. Adita Apparated her back into Hogwarts, and Hermione went in search of Ron and Harry.


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17: The Serpent's Last Bite**

Succumbing to the effects of the potions Hermione had given him, Severus slept until he felt a tiny, rough hand on his cheek and heard Adita's voice in his right ear.

"Mr. Severus!" she whispered urgently. "Time to be taking your potion, Mr. Severus. Mr. Severus is awake?"

Severus blinked groggily. His neck was beginning to throb steadily again. Adita was standing on a chair next to the bed, peering at him with wide bulging eyes and holding his last dose of Blood Replenishing Potion. He parted his lips and accepted it.

"The Pain Relief Potion..." he rasped. "The blue one... on the shelf... behind you."

Adita shook her head. "Sir, Miss said only the first potion until she returned!"

Severus tried to speak louder and only succeeded in growling at the elf, who nearly fell out of the chair.

"Bring... me... the... potion," he hissed softly. "I know what I'm doing!"

The house-elf obeyed, trembling with uncertainty. Severus sighed after he swallowed the cool blue potion, knowing relief would soon follow.

When the pain lifted enough for him to begin to slip back into sleep, Severus drifted in and out of consciousness. Dosed as he was with various potions, several of which made him extremely drowsy, it was hard to think clearly, but he was unable to rest again, brought back from the edge of sleep each time by his body's sympathetic reaction to the danger Hermione was in back at the castle. At one point, he thought the simultaneous feelings of acute anxiety and overwhelming fatigue would pull him apart where he lay.

If she had found Potter before he carried out his last task, as she must have by now, she might be regretting her promise to return. Not only did she now know that Potter was a Horcrux, protected and shepherded to his ultimately sacrificial death at the hands of the Dark Lord... she probably knew about Lily as well. Severus was not sure just how much of his memories of Lily had ended up in Potter's hands – he had only meant to include enough to explain his change of allegiance all those years ago, but wandlessly forcing ones memories out of ones mind and into corporeal form while dying from blood loss did not lend itself to precision.

Surely she would realize that she was now more precious to him than any memory of his young, unrequited love for Lily Evans, no matter how fondly he still remembered her and how deeply he regretted her death. Or would she? So much of their relationship was shrouded in layers of deception and necessary distance to protect _the plan_ , perhaps she would be devastated when Potter told her that the reason Severus had been loyal to Dumbledore was Lily, always Lily, only Lily. Though that had not been true for some time, it was what Potter needed to hear – his mother was a saint to him, and he would easily believe her deserving of such complete devotion.

Severus had always maintained to Dumbledore that his promise to Lily's memory, her son, and Dumbledore was the only thing that kept Severus doing the bidding of the manipulative bastard who paraded around as a wise, beard-stroking Merlin. However, Albus must have suspected that Severus wanted his vile Dark master gone as much as Potter did – Voldemort had destroyed both his life and the only person he had every loved as a young man. Albus was the only person with a plan to bring him down, and he had found in Severus the only person with both the ability and the desire to do what needed to be done to see it through to the end. Potter had been fated to be involved, whether or not he was willing... but Albus had seen to it that he would be.

His thoughts were interrupted at one point by a searing, fiery pain in his arm. It burned with a vengeance for a few seconds, and he might have looked down to be sure it was not actually on fire if he had the ability to move. The pain then slowly tapered off. He hoped that it did not mean what he feared, and that Hermione was not badly injured.

He must have fallen asleep for some time after that, as his thoughts repeated themselves and spiraled through his mind a few times. He woke up again suddenly, his eyes snapping open as if someone had just Rennervated him. Hermione was standing over him, looking half-dead – tired, ashen, and dirty.

"Severus? How do you feel?" Her left cheek was bruised, and there was caked blood in her hairline.

He blinked at her, realizing his pain was largely gone and unless she had forced more potion down his throat, it should have been starting to wear off again.

"Better..." he said, and a strange feeling of numbness in his neck made it easier to speak while raising questions about what she had done to him before he woke.

"Madam Pomfrey taught me a spell to use to help with the pain... you'd already had too much pain relief potion. I'm going to have to Apparate you out of here, since we're the only ones who can get through the wards."

"What..." He trailed off and simply stared at her, mind too fuzzy to figure out which question he should ask first.

"It's over," she whispered, sitting heavily on the bed. "He – _Voldemort –_ is dead. All of him. Every last piece. The end."

She looked down at him with exhausted, drooping eyelids. "Harry sacrificed himself... and he survived. He says he saw Dumbledore in some kind of limbo, while he was knocked out. Voldemort thought he was dead and paraded him out in front of us like a trophy... so he had the element of surprise once the battle began again."

Severus closed his eyes. "I wanted to... tell you. It was _the plan..._ Albus required... that I wait until... the last possible moment."

He heard her sigh. "I think you took 'the last possible moment' and bit too far."

She then gasped and he opened his eyes again. "You're mark! It's gone... I suppose it would be, though..."

She touched his arm in the spot where the Dark Mark had been, the spot that had burned fiercely earlier, the moment his Dark master had finally been vanquished.

"Well, shall I take you back to the castle? Healers are arriving at this very moment to help tend to the wounded. I don't think we can go to St. Mungo's yet, though we will need a Surgical Healer to make sure everything gets put back where it's supposed to be."

"Are you going to duel a path through the infirmary with me on a stretcher? Put a Gag Charm on the Healers, assuming any of them agree to help me?"

Hermione looked steadily into his eyes.

"They will help you. If they don't listen to Harry, they'll have to listen to me. I can prove I'm your wife, under most solemn vows, and I'll swear under Veritaserum that you've been on our side the whole time, if that's what it takes. But it won't come to that. Harry won't be questioned right now."

"So, Potter's told everyone, then."

"Well, he hasn't told them _everything,_ obviously... but yes. He's revealed that you were carrying out Dumbledore's plan and have been since last year."

Severus closed his eyes again. "Did he share the memories... with you?"

Hermione touched his chest lightly. "He told me what he saw. Let's not talk anymore about what happened now, though. I want to get you to a Healer."

She turned around. "Adita? Would you like to come with us to Hogwarts? I happen to know that your master is in hiding at the moment, and furthermore I believe your family would wish you to remain with Severus until he is well."

Adita's eyes grew very round. "Adita must go seek her family first, to see if they be needing any help... but Adita would like very much to go with Mr. Severus. She will ask if this is permitted, and then she will not be needing any punishments."

"You haven't punished yourself while I was gone, have you?" asked Hermione. Adita shook her head.

"Not yet, Miss. Adita is thinking that since Mr. Severus was so good to the family, maybe there should be no punishments."

"I think you are exactly right, Adita. I hope to see you again soon."

Adita bowed and Disapparated. Hermione sighed.

"Okay. Are you ready? If I renew the Weight Displacement Charms on you, do you think you can lean on me long enough to Apparate?"

"Yes," he replied, wishing that he was not about to return to Hogwarts and its inhabitants, who probably now all knew things that he had meant to be only for Potter's eyes. He had not expected Potter to survive. Albus must have, the bastard.

She applied the necessary charms and helped him roll off the bed and into her arms. He leaned over her back and weakly grasped her shoulders with one arm, the odd feeling of his weight being displaced to a larger field around him and concentrated in his feet making his stomach drop.

"Ready?" she asked, and he grunted an affirmative reply.

The arrived at the gate of the castle seconds later. There was a Thestral waiting there for them, though whether by coincidence or intention, Hermione did not say.

"Would you rather ride in on our friend here, or have me conjure a stretcher?" she asked, smiling. She knew the answer already, and she helped him up onto the grisly animal's back before joining him herself.

"I'd walk, but honestly... I'm not sure how I haven't collapsed yet. I gave you most of my strength in the Shrieking Shack and I feel like I've been ill for a month and given a good beating on top of it."

They fought to keep themselves upright as the Thestral made the familiar journey up to the castle. Severus knew he was leaning back on her more and more as they went, slumping down even as he curled his fingers into the beast's mane and held on for dear life. Hermione sneakily cast some nonverbal charms to stick his legs and arse in place, and he refrained from nagging her to stop using her depleted strength only because they were obviously necessary. She then wrapped her arms around him and used him as an anchor to keep her own tired body upright.

They arrived at the doors to the castle, which were still open, and after a beat, Hermione urged the animal through them. They rode into the entryway and past the great hall without seeing any living being. The castle was alarmingly silent, considering what had just passed and how many were still taking refuge within its walls.

"Hermione!" A voice rang out, too loud in the somber silence. It was Potter, standing at the top of the first staircase. "They're here!"

He was soon joined by a large group of bedraggled students and Order members. Poppy appeared beside him, two Healers trailing her down the stairs as she quickly made her way over to them.

Hermione released the Sticking Charms on him as hands and arms reached up to help them down.

"You stubborn girl! I told you to take someone with you – you might have passed out at any moment. Look at you!" Poppy scolded her, but her eyes were warm and filled with motherly worry.

"I couldn't bring anyone else to the place he was hidden," Hermione said simply. "Never mind, though, we're here now. Please, see to his wound immediately. I did the best I could, but obviously I'm no Healer. Here," she handed the rest of the antivenin to one of the Healers. "He shouldn't need any more, or so he tells me, but this is the antidote to the snake's venom. The same he gave you for Arthur Weasley."

Severus could not help noticing the faces of some of those gathered, though he was attempting to avoid all eye contact at the moment. Some of them were tear-streaked and crying, all looking worn and exhausted. There was now nobody in the castle who could not see the frightening beast that Severus had just slid off of, into the arms of the Healers and Neville Longbottom, of all people. The boy had grown over a foot in the past year, it seemed, and was one of the only men left standing who was up to the task of supporting Severus to the infirmary. There was no talk of a stretcher, and the rest of the group parted and stood gravely to the sides, watching him make his slow journey through their ranks. Hermione followed, supported by Potter and Weasley.

As they passed Ginny Weasley, a strange, fierce expression on her face, she began clapping and soon the rest joined in, cheering after a few seconds, while there were many more tears shed as the survivors of the Battle of Hogwarts celebrated their victory together for the first time since the Death Eaters had been rounded up and taken away by the rest of the Aurors, who had arrived from the Ministry just in time to be told that the Dark Lord had just been vanquished. There had been a small scuffle at the Ministry at the same time that Voldemort was making his move at Hogwarts. They had quickly reclaimed the Ministry, for the Voldemort had not anticipated the need to keep it well-guarded. He had not believed he could be defeated.

As they entered the infirmary, he saw Minerva waiting for them. Her face was tense and her mouth set in a small, tight line as they approached. She waited until Severus had been deposited on a bed, thankfully in a private corner of the room. He sat up by sheer strength of will and watched her walk toward him.

"Sever – us!" She was unable to speak, choked by sudden, uncharacteristic emotion, tears welling up in her eyes. She grasped his hand.

"Thank Merlin you're alive. I shall never forgive myself for not seeing the truth this year... for allowing hatred and fear to close my mind."

Severus held her watery gaze.

"It was meant to be so," he said softly, placing his other hand on top of hers. "It had to be so."

"Albus asked too much of you. I'm astonished to find I hardly knew the man at all."

Severus let go of her and sighed. "As was _the plan._ I hold nothing against you, Minerva. He meant for you to be devastated by his death and driven to righteous action by my part in it."

They spoke no more on the matter for quite some time. Minerva never quite recovered from the blow of learning that she had been an unwitting pawn in Albus' master plan to rid the world of Voldemort. She had thought she was close to the man, and much like Harry, she had seen him as a mentor. Perhaps she _had_ known some little-shared secrets of Albus, the man with many past regrets, but nevertheless she had been used.

Minerva left and Severus was attended to by two of St. Mungo's Surgical Healers, while Poppy and a third Healer hovered over Hermione, insisting on giving her a Sleeping Draught.

"Well, Headmaster Snape, it looks like I should be able to patch you up quite nicely," said Healer Grapphert, who seemed to be the one in charge. "Miss Granger was successful in stabilizing your wound in such manner that ensured the best of outcomes. You'll have a scar, of course, but there should be nothing more than cosmetic damage left once you've healed."

"I heard her tell Madam Pomfrey that she spent months reading medical texts while in hiding," whispered the other Healer reverently. "She wanted to be able to heal any wounds she and her friends endured while running from He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named! Amazingly talented witch, to have picked up so much on her own... I wonder if she plans to become a Healer?"

Severus put up with their sporadic conservation as they worked without being able to contribute, not wishing to add anything even if he could have. They were soon finished and applied a dressing covered in a diluted solution containing the antivenin, as that had proven to be most effective in speeding healing when treating Arthur's bite.

"It would be best if you avoided speaking for the next forty-eight hours," said Grapphert. "We've immobilized your neck and jaw muscles, so you would have great difficulty doing so and it's best if you don't strain against the charms."

Severus closed his eyes once in acknowledgement. He hoped Hermione would be asleep for much of that time, since at the moment he wanted nothing more than to talk to her and find out just what Potter had told bloody everyone about his memories.

They gave him a Sleeping Draught as well, and he was soon blissfully at rest in the most unburdened sleep he had gotten for years.

When he woke, it was not Hermione sitting next his bed as he would have preferred, but Potter.

"Professor Snape?"

Severus could see Potter out of the corner of his eyes, which he had slowly opened. Potter moved so that his face was in his line of sight.

"I know you can't talk right now," he said quickly. "I just wanted to come see you as soon as I could and... and thank you for everything you've done. Dumbledore always told me to trust you, and I never did. I'm sorry."

Potter stared at him as if trying to read a message in his eyes. Severus stared blankly back. Finally, he blinked and sighed. Potter blinked back at him, probably realizing in that moment that Severus could do nothing more to communicate with him if he had wanted.

"Hermione's still asleep," he said. "They say her magical strength is weak. She's been doing too much for too long, taking care of us. It was always her magic that protected us. She healed us and did most of the magical chores, too. I suppose it was too much, but we didn't know how to do most of it..."

Potter stared off into space somewhere above Severus' head.

"She told me she knew you were helping us," he said. "She said she has more to tell me, and that it involves you."

Potter straightened up, moving out of Severus' sight again.

"If she knew..." he said slowly. "She probably contacted you for help..." He was silent for a moment. "And she's a lot better at lying that I thought."

Severus might have replied with a variety of vague, smug insinuations, if he had been able to speak. Potter left, no doubt to go ponder his best friend's duplicity over the past year and some odd months. Had it really been that long since Hermione first learned of _the plan_? For it had been nearly almost as long since they were married in a rushed ceremony in Albus' office, he angry and resigned, she uncertain but dutifully accepting of her fate.

Before Hermione made an appearance, Severus was also treated to a visit from Longbottom, who came holding a wooden box.

"We cut the fangs from the snake," he said, opening the box and picking one up with a cloth to show Severus. "I thought they might be useful in some sort of potion. There's got to be more creatures out there like it – I reckon you could create a protective potion of some sort."

Neville was still holding the fang as he spoke, turning it awkwardly in his hand. Severus was about to disregard the Healers' advice and hiss at the boy to put the damn thing away, when he let out a yelp and dropped it on the bed.

"Merlin, that's sharp!" he said weakly, his face turning white. He promptly fell over in a heap on the floor. Severus sighed and summoned his wand to send out a call for help.

"What's happened?!" asked the responding Healer, gaping at Neville's still body. It took quite a bit of Severus' strength to use his wand to spell out a message on the wall, informing the Healer of what had felled Longbottom, and suggesting a single drop of the antivenin under his tongue along with a Reviving Charm. In all likelihood, the boy had simply fainted out of fear and surprise, but a small dose of the antidote would not hurt him in the event there had not been any actual venomous residue on the tip of the fang.

Finally, hours later, Hermione returned. She sat silently by the bed for a while after greeting him softly, wrapped in a blanket.

"I wish you could talk to me," she said after a while. "I suppose you're wondering what Harry told everyone to convince them that you're a hero and not a cold-blooded murderer after all."

He blinked once slowly. She pulled the blanket tighter around her arms. "He told Voldemort, too, you know... as they were facing off that last time. He told him that you were never his, and that Dumbledore planned his own death."

She placed her hand over his. "He hasn't told anyone except me and Ron about Lily. Well, I'm sure Ginny knows... but nobody else does yet. I've made them swear not to tell anyone, under pain of public embarrassment most profound, as seemed a fair punishment."

Severus had closed his eyes upon hearing Lily's name on her lips. Merlin, he wished that she would not have heard the story from Potter's mouth – especially since the boy still only knew something like half of it.

"It makes sense, now," she said. "I've always wondered what it was that made you switch sides all those years ago. You couldn't have been a Death Eater for long before you found out he was targeting Harry's parents. Even before the prophecy, they were targets, weren't they? It said they defied him three times..."

She sighed. "I don't want to just talk at you like this, so I won't. Just... just know that I will listen. Whenever and whatever you want to tell me. I know there's more to your past than what you showed Harry."

Hermione squeezed his hand. "I'm your wife," she whispered. "And I have no intention of leaving you, if... if you want me to stay."

He opened his eyes again to find her face inches from his.

"I love you, Severus Snape," she said, so softly it might have been his imagination. He was not imagining her lips brushing his lightly, though. He wished mightily that he could respond to her kiss, for soon it was over and she was gone. Poppy came to whisk her back to bed, sticking her head in the room and giving Severus a curious look.

The next hours of mandatory muteness were less of a burden, even though Hermione was asleep again for most of them. She was undergoing treatment for depletion of her magical energy, which mainly consisted of deep, uninterrupted, magically-induced rest. He wondered how long it would be before one of the Healers began to investigate just what Hermione might have done to cause such a deficit in her magical strength. If they were knowledgeable about the subject, they would eventually come to the conclusion that either someone or something had taken it, perhaps with a curse that would have to be reversed... or that she had given it up willingly through an intimate and powerful bond with another person.


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18: The Whole Truth**

Hermione woke from her second long sleep feeling stronger than she had in months. Still, there was a persistent feeling of fatigue underlaying her desire to be up and doing things again. She was under strict orders not to do any magic until she was cleared by the Healers, and Madam Pomfrey had placed an alarm on her bed to alert her if Hermione tried to get up and find Severus or her friends.

She had not seen Harry in a few days, and she was not looking forward to the questions he and Ron would have for her. Until she was able to speak with Severus, she did not want to tell them anything.

Ron had come to see her that morning, reaching for her hand as he sat with her. Hermione allowed him to hold onto her in the silence and grieve the loss of his brother. They did not speak much, and only of mundane things – who had recovered from their injuries already, who would be transferred to St. Mungo's (thankfully Hermione was not one of those being sent for more advanced treatment since she only required rest), and the flood of letters, flowers, gifts, and food that was being delivered by the school's owls daily to the survivors still camped out at Hogwarts. Nobody wanted to leave yet and face the task of picking up the pieces of their lives in the real world again. There was still a lot of work to be done cleaning up the mess Voldemort had made, and there were now many families that would never be the same again.

After a few days, if Hermione was correct in her estimation of the passing of time, Severus came to visit her. He was still wrapped in bandages, but the Healers had lifted the immobilization charms on his jaw, neck, and shoulder.

He came and stood silently at the foot of her bed for a few moments before speaking.

"Do you realize how close you were to permanently losing some of your magical ability? You gave up too much."

She smiled slightly at him. "I would do it again. I could not have lived with myself if I let you die without doing everything I could to save you."

He moved to sit on the edge of the bed. "Have the Healers asked what caused your magical depletion? There are very few ways something like that happens. Most of them involve Dark Magic, and even Poppy should be confident by now that you are not under the influence of any curse."

Hermione shook her head. "Nobody has said anything, but I've barely been awake long enough to answer questions. I'm sure they will soon start asking, though. As will Harry and Ron. I've told them I knew all along that you were helping us and protecting the school for Dumbledore."

He stared at her without comment. She sat up, with some effort. "I think we should just tell them the truth – maybe not all of it – but at least the part where you and Albus decided that the best way for me to be protected and stay by Harry's side was to marry you. They don't need to know the extent of our... relationship. Yet."

He traced a circle on the back of her hand with his thumb. "For us to remain vowed to one another, now that you are safe, will raise questions. You might have been of age, but you were still my student. If you choose to stay with me there will be rumors... there will be an investigation of our involvement alongside the investigation of my actions over the course of the year that I posed as a loyal Death Eater after killing Albus Dumbledore. It will not matter that he required it of me, some will always see me as a murderer because I was capable of casting the killing curse."

The look he gave her broke her heart as he said, "You will be married to a lecherous murderer in the eyes of some, no matter the reasons for my actions."

Hermione's anger bubbled up suddenly. "Don't say things like that. I'm not afraid of rumors."

"Would you not rather keep it a secret for as long as possible?"

She held his gaze stubbornly. "No. I wouldn't. I don't care that it will be a scandal. Do... do you?"

He smirked. "I long ago resigned myself to being universally hated. If the worst people see in me is my marriage to a barely-legal witch, I will have survived the war with a far better reputation than expected. I may even avoid even a short, symbolic visit to Azkaban this time around. Potter seems determined to keep me from any punitive measures, and Potter tends to get what he wants in the end."

Hermione turned her hand over and grasped his. "Harry knows about us." He gave her a surprised look. "I didn't tell him. He saw me in your memories. Not much, just enough to know that we were meeting and that we were... close."

Severus had drawn a sharp breath.

"What _exactly_ did he see? Tell me all of it."

"Okay. Assuming he told me everything you gave him, it started with you and his mum as children..."

Hermione told Severus everything she could remember Harry relating to her about the memories.

"And then, he said that sometimes, in between your memories of Lily, there would be short flashes of me... or us. Just little things, like us eating meals together in the house, some of our dueling practices, you helping me with my parents – that was one of them that was longer, I think – and he does know that we've kissed. Or rather, that I kissed you that first time in the kitchen. That's when I told him we'd talk about it later."

Severus sighed. "I was consciously preventing him from getting any of the more... damning memories of us. I suppose at the time my concentration was... lacking."

Hermione was surprised that nobody had interrupted their hushed conversation, so much so that she began to suspect Severus had used a few spells to ensure they got some privacy.

"I hope..." he began, his serious expression making her heart skip a beat. "I did not think Potter would survive. When Albus informed me that he was a Horcrux – shortly before he informed me that I would be marrying you – he did not give me any reason to think Potter could live if the Dark Lord was to be defeated. It was imperative – "

"I know," Hermione interrupted. "Harry told me how upset you were when you found out. You must have hated Dumbledore – I'm sure he wanted you to feel that way. How else could you have found it in you to cast the curse that ended his life? He asked you to do so many terrible things for the greater good."

Severus was silent for a few minutes. "As for the rest of it, Potter was not given the whole story. Lily was only true friend I ever had, and as I grew up I did often hope she would come to love me as I did her, but she was never... she was never anything like what you are to me. Even though I loved her, I knew she would never understand or be willing to forgive me for things I'd said and done before graduating. There was never a time that I had reason to think we'd be together – she was clear about that even though she never stopped attempting to protect me from her friends."

Hermione felt her eyes fill with tears, hearing him tell her things about his past that nobody else knew, possibly not even Dumbledore.

"Even when it meant keeping my sporadic correspondence with her after we left Hogwarts a secret, she did not betray me. She forever held on to the hope that I would join the Order and denounce those who had accepted me as a worthy and respected brother. Once it became clear just how far those brothers would go to impose their views on others – once my one and only beloved friend was targeted – I tried to get out. It was too late. So, I laid low and what was required of me to stay alive... until I discovered his plan for the Potters. Then, I went to Dumbledore."

Tears were now escaping down her face, but Hermione did not care.

"I did make those promises to Dumbledore out of love for Lily and out of regret for my part in her death. At the time, hating the world as I did, I had little other motivation to put my life in even more danger by either deserting my side or turning a spy. Looking back, I could not have stopped fate, but perhaps it might not have been me who caused her downfall and doomed her son to face her murderer one day. When Potter came to Hogwarts, I could barely look at the boy without losing my mind. Not only is he the mirror image of his close-minded, arrogant father, but I was every day reminded that it would not be long before Voldemort returned for Lily's only son."

Hermione sniffled and gasped for a breath. "Was his father always so awful? Did he never grow out of it? Lupin..." her voice broke, remembering that he was gone, now. "Lupin told Harry that he matured and became a better person once he was with Lily."

Severus' eyes flashed with anger. "While he was at school, he only learned to keep his bullying a secret from her – he never changed. After graduating, any change on his part would have been the influence of Lily. It's possible that he eventually regretted his actions while at school. I never received an apology, and Pettigrew saw fit to betray him to the Dark Lord after being the butt of jokes among supposed friend for years... so I doubt he was ever much improved. Lily saw the best in people, and while she knew all of my faults intimately, having watched them develop as we grew up together, she was strangely blind to his. Shortly after graduation, he took a very public, bold, idealogical stand and spoke out against blood purists at a time when it was incredibly dangerous to do so. She admired his bravery. If he did not immediately change his other less admirable traits, she must have at least believed he was trying – something she did not see in me. I tried to convince her that staying with James Potter was suicidal. Unfortunately, she only saw my concern as jealousy, especially when I begged her not to marry him. I knew... I knew he would get himself killed, and her along with him, even before they were targeted. She was always by his side."

Hermione squeezed his hand after he had fallen silent for a few moments. "I knew there was more to the story than what Harry told me. Thank you for not showing him any more memories of his father than were necessary. Harry was devastated when he saw that memory fifth year of his father and Sirius. He only knows what people tell him of his parents, since he has no memories of his own with them. It would tear him apart to have only bad ones of his dad, as I'm sure was all you could have given him."

She knew that Severus probably only had bad memories of his own father, from what Harry had told her. Perhaps that was what had kept him from doing as much damage to James' reputation as he could have done.

Hermione scooted closer to him, sitting cross-legged on the bed. "Is there anything else I should know?"

He gently took her by the shoulders and pulled her in for a soft kiss.

"Do you know why my patronus was always a doe before?"

She shook her head slightly, and waited for him to continue.

"For a long time, Lily was the only good thing I had known in my life. Her patronus was a doe. I had no other memories strong enough to produce the charm, and so the corporeal form reflected that reality. But then..." he kissed her again. "I found a reason to hope that my life might not always be so... empty."

Hermione sighed happily, one last tear trickling down her cheek as she pressed her hand into the back of his neck and deepened the kiss. He broke away and moved his lips to her ear.

"When he married us, Albus unknowingly gave me a reason to live and you the power to keep me from dying on the floor of that shack. I do love you... my wife."

They decided to break the news to Madam Pomfrey and the Healers first, so that they would not waste any more time worrying about the cause of Hermione's magical depletion. Hermione called her in and explained that she had come to be in such a weakened state by sharing her magic with Severus while she attempted to stabilize him after Nagini's bite.

Pomfrey's eyes widened as she realized what Hermione was telling her. "Severus? And... and _you_? Miss Granger, that can't be possible. When? And How?"

"Professor Dumbledore asked Severus to marry me last year after I came of age. He knew I would be targeted by Voldemort, since I was close to Harry... even then, before he passed the Marriage Mandate, he planned to have his followers abduct Muggle-borns and marry them. That way, they would be under his control and unable to go off into hiding – or if they tried, they could more easily be found."

" _Dumbledore_ was behind it? No, that can't be... you're barely more than a child, and Severus was your professor, old enough to be your father! Certainly Albus could have found another way."

Hermione shook her head. "No, it had to be Severus. Not only would Voldemort lose interest in me once I was supposedly under Severus' control, Severus had to be able to help us after I went off with Harry. We could not let Harry know that Snape was still helping us – Voldemort had a direct connection to Harry's mind that was put there when he tried to kill him the first time. Harry was able to sense Voldemort's emotions sometimes, and there was no telling what Voldemort might be able to find out through that connection. So, I had to be the one who trusted Severus, and we had to be able to find one another easily."

Pomfrey sucked in her breath and let it out again, as if trying to calm herself. "So you married Severus last year, with Dumbledore's blessing. Hermione... my dear... please be honest with me. The only way you could have given Severus so much of your magic is through taking and sealing the most solemn vows. Were you forced to do so? Did Dumbledore ask this of you? Did Severus?"

Hermione shook her head violently. "No! Of course not! I was not _forced_ to agree to the marriage, but I did after they told me the reason for the plan. Severus was not happy about it, but like me, he realized it was the best way. He didn't force or ask me to do anything other than help keep Harry safe."

Hermione could still plainly see the doubt in Madam Pomfrey's eyes. "He would never have taken advantage of me."

Pomfrey's shoulders relaxed a bit, but the doubt remained on her face.

Hermione smiled slightly. Now came the punch. "It was me who eventually wanted more. We plan to remain happily married."

After getting over the initial shock, Pomfrey agreed to keep their secret until they were ready for it to be widely known. At the same time as Hermione was having her chat with Madam Pomfrey, Severus was breaking the news to Professor McGonagall.

A few days later, once Hermione was cleared to perform magic once again, Pomfrey pulled the Healers aside and informed them that they need not continue investigating the cause of her magical depletion. If the Healers were astonished by the news that Hermione had secretly married Severus Snape at some point during the last year, when she was the only other person alive who knew his true loyalty, and that they had worked together to keep Harry Potter safe until he was ready to face Voldemort, they did not show it when they said their goodbyes and returned to St. Mungo's.

Pomfrey claimed that they had promised not to share their knowledge with anyone, but Hermione did not much care if they did. Soon, it would be no secret that she was married to Severus Snape.

Now, the hard part came – breaking the news to the boys. Hermione asked them to walk with her down to the lake one afternoon, insisting that they take a break from helping the crew of faculty and students repair and rebuild the castle.

"Is this when you tell us the rest of what happened with you and Snape?" Harry asked as soon as they got to the bank. Hermione laughed.

"Yes, Harry. Uh, let's all sit down, shall we?"

The boys obeyed and sat staring at her expectantly.

"So, you know Dumbledore planned for Professor Snape to wait until the very end to tell you the truth, and that he expected you to sacrifice yourself... but _the plan_ was much more complicated than that. When I say _the plan,_ I mean Dumbledore's plan to defeat Voldemort. Se – Snape was the only person he trusted to see _the plan_ through, once he was gone. Until it became obvious that Snape would not be able to do it alone... and that I had become a target. Apparently, I was supposed to be with you until the end, and they had to make sure that would happen."

The boys were still staring at her, waiting for her to get to the point.

"So... so part of _the plan_ was that I would marry Professor Snape, so that I would be protected and able to go with you to find Horcruxes. Dumbledore married us himself one night, in his office."

Ron looked as if someone had slapped him, and Harry's mouth had fallen open.

"You're _married?!_ " Harry exclaimed. "I thought you just _fancied_ him... and that was bad enough! Gross, Hermione!"

She rolled her eyes at him. "It was done to protect me, but mostly for _you_ , you know. Dumbledore couldn't tell you about Severus, not with Voldemort able to get into your head."

"But... but you _like_ him. I _saw_ it in his memories. You ki – "

"Harry!" Hermione gave him a significant look.

"Well, you might as well tell him, or I will," Harry said, glancing at Ron, whose face was pale now.

Hermione took a deep breath and looked at Ron. "Ron, Harry's wrong. I don't _like_ Severus. I'm in love with him. I'm not going to dissolve the vows, as was originally the plan if we made it through all of this alive."

Ron shook his head as if waking from a bad dream and stood up abruptly. He walked away without looking back, starting a circle around the perimeter of the lake. Hermione looked back at Harry.

"Thanks a lot for helping me make this easier!" she hissed in annoyance. Harry crossed his arms.

"You could've told him a long time ago there was somebody else."

"Oh, sure," said Hermione. "Then I would have had to put up with the two of you nagging me constantly about who it was, considering I hadn't so much as looked at another guy for at least two years. Besides, Harry, he was in no state to hear that _before_ he stormed out on us, and once he came back he was so focused that I didn't want to distract him from the mission."

Harry's expression softened. "I guess."

Hermione sighed. "I'll talk to you more about it later, okay? I think I need to have a private conversation with Ron at the moment."

Harry left her to hurry after Ron alone. She caught up to him when he stopped and went to stand among the tall grasses on the bank, digging in the dirt for stones to toss over the water.

"Ron."

He didn't turn around. She walked over to stand beside him. "I'm sorry I hurt you. I couldn't tell you the truth then, but I can now, if you... have any questions."

"There's not much to tell, I reckon," he replied stiffly. "You were part of Dumbledore's secret plan, because apparently I'm too useless to be trusted, and he convinced you to marry some greasy old git. Was that when you broke up with me?"

"Well, yes. I suppose it was a break up, but you never actually asked me to be your girlfriend, you know."

"You know I was going to – I told you!"

Hermione sighed. "Yeah. I know. Look, Ron, I can't help that I... developed feelings for Severus this year. It was the last thing I expected to happen. All that time you guys thought I was with my parents on vacation? I was really with him. We became... close, like friends. I've seen him like you never did – he's not the person you knew in school. That was an act. You should have considered that after we learned he was a spy, that he might not actually be an awful person. He had to act that way to make sure none of the Death Eater's would doubt him. Even still, some of them did."

Ron shrugged and sulkily skipped a rock over the water.

"I think..." Hermione struggled to find the right words. "I think we might be too different to have worked out in the end, Ron. You deserve someone who can at least fly a broom across a Quidditch pitch without falling off three times, and who actually cares which team wins the Cup."

He threw another rock. "That would be nice," he admitted, dropping the rest of the rocks in his hand and turning to look at her at last.

"I'm truly sorry, Ron. You're one of my best friends, and I hate that I had to lie to you all year. Dumbledore made me promise not to tell anyone what I knew. He probably didn't think you would be willing to keep secrets from Harry. I'm not sure I like what that says about me, but there it is. He knew you were too close to Harry to keep him in the dark."

"Yeah, well... I don't like lying," Ron said. "Didn't think you did, either. Maybe you're right... we wouldn't have worked out after all."

Hermione left him by the lake after he insisted that he would return to the castle after he took some time to think. Her heart was heavy. It was a sad thing to realize that she was no longer the trusted, loyal friend they thought her to be. It didn't matter that she had done it all for _the plan_ or that she had worked herself into deathlike exhaustion keeping them safe for months... she was not the person they thought they knew and it had suddenly, perhaps irrevocably, wedged them apart.

Still, she was happy, overall. Despite her grief over those lost, despite the feeling of distance increasing between her and the boys, she was still happy to be alive and looked forward to what life would bring now that the Dark Lord was gone, she was free to be a witch again, and Severus was free to live his life as he wished. The future held much promise, even if their victory would be remembered with significant losses.

Though she had been cleared to perform basic magic, Hermione was still not allowed to help with repairing the castle, so every day while the rest of her friends and Severus were out working on the task, she was reading or taking walks through the grounds. Finally, she convinced them to allow her to take her walks through the castle, carrying a map of the building and marking any area of concern she saw for the crews to investigate later.

Severus was now free of his wound dressings, and was sporting an angry jagged red scar. There was another one on his forearm where the Mark had been, but it was already faded and white, a mere echo of what had been magically etched there for so many years.

There had been whispers and rumors of the truth ever since Hermione had told the boys, but nobody had yet asked her outright if she was really married to Professor Snape. Still, they had not been hiding the fact that they were unusually close for two people who should have no reason to be. She addressed him by his first name casually in front of Neville and Luna once, and Severus called her Hermione without concern for who might be listening. She was quite obviously the only person with whom he had any patience for frivolous conversation.

"I knew it," said Luna one day, after witnessing one of their exchanges.

"What?" Hermione asked, her heart beating faster. This was it – of course it would be Luna who would ask first.

"Oh... nothing," she replied airily. "I don't want to be the one to ruin it."

"Ruin _what,_ Luna?"

"The announcement. Wouldn't it be much more fun to surprise everyone? I realized as soon as they started treating you for depletion of your magic... but don't worry, I haven't told anyone."


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter 19: The Spy-Who-Lived**

Severus was off-kilter, barely hanging on to life in the days following the downfall of Voldemort. He had never expected to survive the war, and he had certainly not expected to feel the way he did about the idea of staying with his young wife.

Until it became a reality, the possibility that he would survive and be faced with the question of what to do about the marriage had been so slim, he had not allowed himself to consider it seriously. That she wanted to stay with him was even more unexpected.

He had not thought of the marriage as a real, legitimate bond until now, but here he was, a married man with a strong, talented, intelligent wife who despite her age was wise beyond her years.

To be thrown into such a different set of life circumstances so suddenly was disorienting, not to mention the problem of how he should act around people who had thought him the worst sort of despicable, cowardly, cruel traitor for the past year... and many of them had hated him long before that. Now, they watched and waited to see what Severus Snape was really like, beneath the layers of deception. Severus had played his character so well, for so long, he was not even sure who he really was. He had slowly changed over the years, though nobody else would have known it.

He still had little patience for fools or idle conversation, and his temper was only marginally improved when tested beyond his limits. He still spoke sharply and abruptly, and he still had a wickedly sarcastic sense of humor... though perhaps he sometimes took pains to be a bit less acerbic and did not dole out insults with a smile at the slightest provocation.

Hermione had recently been cleared to perform a little basic magic, but she was still under close observation and required a few extra hours sleep at the end of each day. She had been walking the castle and grounds to entertain herself when reading for hours began to hurt her eyes. Her impeccably neat and organized maps marking areas that needed repair were quite useful as Severus and the crews of faculty and students did what they could to put everything back in order.

Though only a few of those who remained in the castle knew the whole truth behind his and Hermione's surprisingly close relationship, Severus did not try to hide his preference for Hermione's company, nor the fact that his patience for her conversation extended far beyond what he had for anyone else. They took meals together, which was perhaps not so unusual considering all of the faculty were doing the same and the staff table had been unoccupied since the battle ended. However, it must not have escaped the others' notice that he and Hermione often sat together, leaving just enough space between them and those around them at the table that their conversations rarely included anyone else.

Hermione was already trying to make up lost time in regard to her education. Despite his assurances that she could take the N.E.W.T.s immediately and manage to pass with satisfactory marks, she would not relent. She demanded that he give her the curriculum list for each N.E.W.T. so that she could study, practice, and prepare to earn a full flight of Outstanding marks for each subject. He did as she asked, considering that his assistance in the completion of her education was the one thing she had asked for when she agreed to the marriage.

She spent her days reading and her conversations with him were filled with questions about magical theory, defensive spells and strategies, and potions methods she had not yet been able to try. Her ability to understand and recall material was still impressive, as always.

"You're quite ambitious in your variety of academic interests," he commented one day. "How shall you decide which to pursue as a career after earning your N.E.W.T.s? I believe the Healers were convinced you should apply to one of the programs at St. Mungo's, after witnessing your skill in stabilizing the damage done to my neck and shoulder. Apparently I owe you, first and foremost, for the ability to move my arm and turn my head."

She smiled. "I've considered becoming a Healer... but, I don't know if I could handle the pressure of being responsible for others' lives and dealing with traumatic injuries every day. I did it for you because I had to, but it was one of the most stressful things I've ever done and blood tends to make me queasy. I think I might prefer something more... academic."

Minerva had been avoiding him since he told her about the marriage. She had been shocked and disapproving, rounding on Albus' portrait and giving it a piece of her mind before turning back to Severus.

"Miss Granger is very young, Severus. You could be her father."

Severus had sneered. "Only if I was the sort of fool who would marry young and immediately have a child in the midst of a quickly-escalating war."

"This will not look good for you. Hadn't you better keep it a secret until you're name has officially been cleared?"

Severus had scoffed. "No. The marriage was carried out to protect her. They needn't know it was more than a ruse at this point. Nobody can blame us for being cautious and putting off the dissolution of the vows when there are few wizards alive who could do so without upsetting the natural balance of our joined magic and negatively affecting our abilities."

Minerva had peered at him, wearing a shrewd look. "You care for her, that much is obvious, but Severus... I cannot get past the fact that she must have had little say in the invocation of the vows. Did she understand what she was getting herself into?"

Severus felt his anger rise. "She most certainly did _understand._ She was informed – truthfully – that her options were limited if she wanted to be able to stay by Potter's side through the end. She had already pledged to go with Potter and help him fulfill his fate. Would it not have been a greater crime to know what danger she was in, that she had caught the Dark Lord's attention and been targeted, and not warn her? Not offer her protection?"

Minerva sighed. "I suppose Albus did what was best for all involved, at least in this case. I worry that with her being so young, she will miss out on opportunities and friendships that would have normally come her way."

Severus scowled, and was forming a reply when Minerva spoke again. "My main concern is how she will complete her education when she is married to the headmaster of this school. It would be highly inappropriate for her to continue as a student here under such circumstances."

Severus stared blankly at Minerva. "What makes you think I want to remain headmaster, assuming that I'm even permitted to keep the office?"

She eyed him and asked, "What else would you do? While I'm sure last year was not at all enjoyable for you, keeping up with the Carrows and maintaining your cover, you were still quite good at the job. You ran the school, managed to still give the students a decent education in most subjects, and kept the Carrows from seriously injuring anyone. Furthermore, I think you are just what Hogwarts needs right now – a Slytherin headmaster who is a hero and who renounces blood purity. The rift between the houses must end."

Speechless for a moment, Severus crossed his arms. "You would do well in the office, do you not want it?"

"No, most certainly not. I enjoy the classroom, Severus. I would consider performing the office of Deputy Head, if you were so inclined to offer it. "

Severus was not sure how he felt about that proposition, so he made no reply to it and continued, "Whether or not I remain Headmaster, Hermione will continue her education with a private tutor and will take her N.E.W.T.s with the rising seventh year class. This was her own plan. If she was not determined to earn a scorecard full of 'O's she could take the tests now and easily pass."

Minerva accepted his answer for the time being, and Severus tried not to give much thought to what he would do if things did not go his way with the Ministry. Potter had a lot of pull thanks to ending Voldemort's reign of terror once and for all, but the Wizengamot had never liked Severus, no matter how successfully Albus had been able to defend him.

It was not until he was informed via owl that he would be subject to a formal investigation and trial before the Wizengamot that Hermione began to worry.

"Surely this is just a formality?" she asked, frowning at the letter he had handed her shortly after reading it himself. "Everyone knows we could not have succeeded without your help. Dumbledore's portrait was embedded with the truth. You have the memories to prove you were following orders."

While Severus hoped she was right, he could not help feeling that their future did not yet exist and that it would not until he was declared a free man and his record as a murdering war criminal was officially cleared.

When that day finally came Severus was pleasantly surprised, after sitting through five hours of testimony on his behalf from Hermione, Potter, Weasley, various students, Minerva, Poppy, and Albus' portrait, who informed the investigative panel that there were memories in a vault at Gringott's that would unequivocally set the record straight, from the mouth and eyes of Dumbledore himself. Over an hour of the trial was spent waiting for a court official to procure the memories in question and bring them before the panel.

It had come out in the proceedings that Hermione had agreed to marry Severus after coming of age, for her own protection. Those in attendance who were surprised by that information were further astounded when she jumped up and wrapped him in a bear hug as soon as he had been cleared and given permission to leave his seat in front of the panel of judges.

The moment that would always be remembered, however, was the next one, in which Severus wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her up onto her tiptoes for a celebratory kiss, which lasted long enough for the shocked reporters present to document the moment for the public and many future generations.

A few days later, Severus took a trip to Diagon Alley without Hermione, and when he returned he immediately asked her to meet him by the lake. He waited for her in the shade of the one of the oldest trees, sitting on a knotty, exposed root.

"What is it?" she asked as she approached. He gestured for her to join him and after she sat down he opened his hand to show her what he held in his palm. Hermione stared at the matching silver bands with delicate etched designs twining around them.

"The vows are no longer a secret... from anyone," he said. "We might as well wear the traditional tokens of marriage."

"Might as well," she agreed, her eyes laughing at him. She held out her hand and he slipped the band onto her finger. She did the same for him.

"Now," she said. "My strength is returning slowly, but I've read that our vows provide us with a way to... speed up the healing process." She smiled. "And I _know_ for a fact that the school portraits must keep the secrets of the headmaster _and_ his wife. The only question now is can we get into your rooms without anyone else seeing us?"


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter 20: Epilogue**

Hermione and Severus were always viewed as a curiosity. They were war heros and household names, of course, and like Harry remained revered celebrities for the rest of their lives. Despite their many academic contributions to the fields of Potions and Healing Magic, and Hermione's work as an advocate for both Muggle-born equality and the reclassification of many magical creatures as full members of magical society, Severus Snape and Hermione Granger-Snape were primarily remembered as the unlikely couple that was secretly married while working together to help Harry Potter defeat the greatest threat to magical freedom in centuries.

Later generations of young witches and wizards would remember Severus and Hermione as Headmaster and Professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts at Hogwarts, respectively. Under their guidance, Hogwarts became known for producing some of the best Aurors and Healers in the entire magical world. Hermione was particularly interested in the connections between defensive spells and Healing Magic.

A few years passed before Hermione was rewarded for her tireless efforts to get Harry and Ron to be more than respectfully civil to Severus.

"I can appreciate what he did without actually liking him as a person. Besides, I'm pretty sure he still hates me," Harry would often whine.

Ginny had been won over almost immediately, but then, she had not had the shared experience of intensifying hatred for him over the course her school career like the boys had. Harry found it difficult to forget the rivalry between them, despite Hermione's reminders that it had been an act. She did not tell him that Severus had truly enjoyed that act at times, since Harry had been quite a disrespectful, headstrong, rule-breaking smart-arse, hell bent on getting himself killed, which had made Severus' life infinitely more difficult.

The boys distanced themselves from Hermione after learning of her marriage to Severus and her feelings for the man they had previously known as vindictive and cruel, and a murderer. As with their reaction to learning that Hermione had kept so much from them while carrying out _the plan,_ they were of the opinion that no matter the reasons, someone who could so easily lie and so effectively hide the truth for years could never be trusted. Harry was also unwilling to admit that Severus could have killed Dumbledore and come out of it with his soul intact. Hermione tried to remind him that the Killing Curse did not always break or poison one's soul, depending on the motivation behind the spell and one's state of mind while it was cast – but Harry remained suspicious.

Hermione was patient and determined though, and she eventually repaired their friendship. Severus was less interested in convincing Harry to trust him, and couldn't have cared less if the boys liked him. Still, after it became clear that he loved Hermione and was loved by her, and after the school was restored to a higher caliber of fairness and excellency in education than ever before thanks to Severus' tenure as Headmaster, they began to see him as more than an ex-Death Eater spy who had ended up on the right side of the war despite himself.

It was a full year before they stopped trying to convince Hermione that she deserved better than a reclusive, unpleasant _old_ _man,_ a descriptor she vehemently rejected, reminding Harry that Severus was still young in the wizarding world, where people tended to live far longer than the average Muggle lifespan. Harry liked to remind her that Severus had been 'obsessed' with his mum for years, to which Hermione always smiled and replied that she was not jealous of the past.

It seemed that the boys, like many others, thought Hermione had somehow been deceived into a relationship with Severus. They seemed to think she was going through a phase and would soon wake up and realize that her infatuation with her former professor and partner in deception during the war had ceased. Perhaps they even wondered if she was afraid to leave him.

However, as time went on and Severus and Hermione only grew closer and more certain of their choice to remain wed, the doubters had to admit they had been wrong about the forces holding the couple together.

Hermione completed her education and went on to study Healing, with a focus in research. She had received a thorough Defense education from Severus both during the war and after, which is how she ended up teaching the subject after spending five years working for St. Mungo's Department of Healing.

When Harry and Ginny were married, Hermione had to bribe Severus into going with her. However, four years later at Ron and Emma's wedding, he went with little complaint, even though he still had little patience for Ron. They had spent the evening with Minerva, Harry, Ginny, their toddler son James, and Luna and Neville for company.

Over the next few years Hermione was overwhelmed with the numerous births of her friends' children, their birthday parties, and a near-constant barrage of photos for her perusal anytime she happened to visit one of them. Harry and Ginny had three children (and there they would stop, Ginny insisted), Ron and Emma already had a set of twins, Ruby and June, and the new baby, Fred. Neville, who had married Hannah Abbott, had a sweet, shy, chubby-cheeked little girl named Olive and another one on the way.

It was not until everyone but the Ron and Emma had finished adding to their families and James was in his second year at Hogwarts that Hermione and Severus surprised them all by finally becoming parents as well. Artemis Rose Snape was born the summer before Hermione's thirty-sixth birthday and was a mirror image of both Hermione and her great-grandmother, Rose. Nine years later Severine Margot, who was born with a full head of sleek black hair and the darkest of brown eyes, joined the family to the surprise of even her own parents.

Severus and Hermione were on good terms with Mr. and Mrs. Granger after finding them and restoring their memories... and spending the next ten years proving that what they had done had been necessary, that the magical world was healing and becoming a better place, and that Severus was as good a man as Hermione claimed. By the time their grandchildren were born, Mr. and Mrs. Granger had forgiven their daughter for what she had done, had forgiven Severus for helping her, and had renewed faith that the future magical generations of their family would be safe in the wizarding world.

Severus, Hermione, Artemis, and Severine lived in Hogsmeade with Crookshanks (who had a very long life, even for a Kneazle), and two black cats named Stella and Mordecai. Their house was also home to Adita, a free house-elf, who worked for the Snape family all her life after Narcissa Malfoy freed her at Severus' request.

The next generation of witches and wizards to pass through Hogwarts would try to imagine a time, not so long ago, when Professor Snape was thought to be a prejudiced, hated teacher and later a ruthless murderer, Professor Granger-Snape was a busy-haired know-it-all who lived in Harry Potter's shadow, Professor Longbottom once picked up the Sword of Gryffindor and killed an enormous possessed snake, and the Weasley children's father went with 'The Chosen One' as he faced impossible odds against Tom Riddle and his army of blood purist followers. For to these children, Severus was the strict but unfailingly fair Headmaster with a wicked sense of humor that surfaced from time to time, Hermione was the best Defense teacher the school had ever known and deadly in a duel (or so they were told), Neville was gentle and soft-spoken and treated his plants as if they were his children, and Ron was a devoted father, an ex-Quidditch player Auror who eventually took a desk job in the department so that his schedule allowed him more time with his seven children.

By the time Severine Snape began her first year at Hogwarts, none of her peers feared her thorough knowledge of the Dark Arts and their most effective defenses, and no one dared vilify her for knowing such things before coming to Hogwarts. It was to be expected from Hermione's child, after all.

THE END


End file.
